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SWEET  POTATO  CULTURE. 

GIVING  PULL  mSTEUOTIONS  PROM 

Starting  the  Plants  to  Harvesting  and 
Storing  the  Crop. 

WITH   A   CHAPTER   ON   THE   CHINESE   YAM, 

NEW  AND  ENLARGED  EDITION. 


BY 

JAMES    FITZ. 

AUTHOR  OF    "  SOUTHERN   APPLK   AND  PEACH  CULTTjBIBT. 


NEW    YORK: 

ORANGE  JUDD  COMPANY, 

1903 


Entered,  accormng  to  Act  of  Congresa,  in  the  year  1886,  by  the 

').    .TTTDD    CO. 

In  the  Office  of  the  Librariiiu  oi  Congress,  at  Washington. 


CONTENTS, 


Chapter  I.  ^ 

The  Sweet  Potato— Varieties i 

Chapter  II. 
Production  and  Pi'ofits 13 

Chapter  III. 
Uses  of  the  Sweet  Potato : - .  14 

Chapter  IV. 
Uses  of  the  Vines  and  Leaves 18 

Chapter  V. 
Adaptation  to  Localities - 19 

Chapter  VI. 
Suitable  Soils  and  Manures 21 

Chapter  VII. 

Propagation  of  the  Sweet  Potato 24 

Chapter  VIII, 
Preparation  of  the  Soil 31 

Chapter  IX. 
Drawing  the  Plants  and  Planting 33 

Chapter  X. 
Implements  Used  in  Sweet  Potato  Culture 35 

Chapter  XI. 
Cultivation 36 

Chapter  XII. 

Harvesting  the  Sweet  Potato 42 

Chapter  XIII. 

Transportation  and  Marketing 44 

Chapter  XIV. 

Storing  and  Keeping 46 

Chapter  XV. 
Diseases  and  Enemies  of  the  Sweet  Potato 50 

^'^    -oo..a  24233 


4  CONTENTS. 

Chapter  XVI. 
Useful  Tables, Etc -... 53 

Chapter  XVII. 
Conclusion. 54 

Chapter  XVIII. 
Chinese  Yam 56 

Chapter  XIX. 

Manuring  for  Sweet  Potatoes 59 

Chapter  XX. 
Propagating  the  Sweet  Potato  (additional)  .  - - 60 

Chapter  XXI. 
General  Remarks  on  the  Culture 61 

Chapter  XXII. 
Miscellaneous  Views  on  the  Management 69 

Chapter  XXIII. 
The  Hill  and  Row  Systems 75 

Chapter  XXIV. 
The  Value  of  the  Sweet  Potato 76 

Chapter  XXV. 
How  to  Save  Sweet  Potatoes 78 

Chapter  XXVI. 

Harvesting  and  Storing  Sweet  Potatoes 80 

Chapter  XXVII. 

Sweet  Potatoes  in  Northern  Localities 83 

Chapter  XXVIII. 
Cooking  Sweet  Potatoes 84 

Chapter  XXIX. 
Sweet  Potatoes  for  Hogs 86 

Chapter  XXX. 
Miscellaneous  Matters 87 


PKEFACE  TO   THP:  NEW  AND   GREATLY 
ENLARGED   EDITION. 


The  greatly  increased  demand  for  what  we  have  already 
written  on  the  sweet  potato  encourages  us  to  use  all  the 
means  of  information  within  our  reach,  to  add  further 
value  to  this  treatise.  We  have,  through  the  courtesy 
of  correspondents  in  the  various  sweet  potato  regions, 
elicited  information  and  views  on  propagation  and  cul- 
ture, which  we  endorse  as  eminently  practical  and  useful, 
and  which  will  doubtless  render  this  work  (the  only  one 
published  on  this  subject)  indispensable  as  a  book  of 
"quick  and  convenient  reference"  to  all  cultivators  of 
tlie  sweet  potato. 

It  is  not  easy  to  estimate  the  value  of  the  additional 
instruction  and  experience  in  the  added  chapters.  All 
needed  information,  it  is  believed,  is  now  given  which 
can  tend  to  render  this  increasing  industry  more  profit- 
able by  means  of  intelligent  culture. 

The  modes  of  culture  and  management  suitable  for 
different  sections  are  somewhat  various.  This  requires 
attention.  For  instance,  the  vines  are  allowed  to  take 
hold  on  tiie  ridges  and  produce  extra  crops  in  some  parts 
of  the  South,  while  in  the  Northern  and  Middle  States 
this  cannot  be  permitted  without  detriment  to  the  crop. 
The  length  of  the  growing  season  nuikes  this  difference. 

Having  collected  and  arranged  additional  matter  that 
must  render  our  work  more  useful,  we  submit  it  to  the 
public,  hoping  to  merit  the  increased  confidence  and  ap- 
proval of  all  culturists. 


The  Author. 
Kes^oich,  Va.,  September  Isi,  188G. 
(5) 


nHODT  IMMT 


PREFACE. 


Tlie  requisites  for  the  proper  production  and  cultiva- 
tion of  the  Sweet  Potato  are  probably  less  understood 
than  those  of  any  other  crop  of  like  importance. 

The  author,  residing  in  a  locality  where  the  Sweet  Po- 
tato comes  to  perfection,  and  having  a  practical  know- 
ledge of  its  cultivation,  storing,  etc.,  feels  that,  in  the 
absence  of  any  treatise  on  the  subject,  he  may  be  able  to 
supply  a  want  in  horticultural  literature. 

Whoever  aids  in  increasing  the  supply  of  food,  must  he 
regarded  as  a  public  benefactor,  and  the  author  hopes 
that  the  instructions  contained  in  this  little  work  may 
promote  the  public  welfare. 

The  author  trusts  that  his  friends  in  the  Sweet  Potato 
districts  will  not  regard  him  as  officious  if  he  urges  the 
importance  of  their  looking  to  foreign  markets  for  the 
disi)osal  of  their  crops  of  the  Sweet  Potato.,  Now  that 
steamships  are  constructed  for  the  safe  transportation  of 
perishable  articles,  there  would  appear  to  be  no  reason 
why  the  Sweet  Potato  should  not  be  a  regular  article  of 
export,  and  it  only  needs  co(")iieration  between  ship- 
owners and  growers  to  secure  this  end. 


(6) 


CHAPTER  I. 

THE    SWEET  POTATO.— (Tpomcea  Batatas,  Lam.) 

The  Sweet  Potato  belongs  to  the  Convolvulus  or 
Morning-Glory  Family,  (the  ConvolvulacecB) ,  and  in  the 
various  revisions  of  this  large  and  somewhat  difficult 
family,  the  Sweet  Potato  has  been  assigned  to  several  dif- 
ferent genera.  Hence  we  find  it  in  some  works  given  as 
Convolvulus  Batatas,  of  Linnaeus  ;  G.  esculenhis,  and  C. 
tuberosus,  of  other  botanists.  Choisy  gives  it  as  Batatas 
edulis ;  while  the  latest  revision  of  the  family,  by 
Bentham  and  Hooker,  in  Genera  Plantarum,  places  it 
under  Ipo7no?a,  hence,  according  to  accepted  botanical 
authority,  the  proper  botanical  name  of  the  Sweet  Potato 
is:  Iporncen  Batatas,  of  Lamarck. 

The  native  country  of  tlie  Sweet  Potato,  as  with  many 
others  of  our  cultivated  plants,  is  still  very  doubtful. 
There  is  very  strong  evidence  in  favor  of  both  its  East 
Indian  and  American  origin,  but  as  the  plant  has  not  yet 
been  found  growing  wild  in  either  country,  the  question 
remains  undec'uled. 

Tluit  the  potato  mentioned  by  Shakespeare  and  contem- 
porary writers,  was  this,  and  not  the  "  White,"  or 
"  Irish  "  potato,  there  seems  to  be  little  doubt. 

The  Sweet  Potato  is  a  perennial,  with  large,  tuberous 
roots,  and  creeping  stems  ;  the  leaves  are  very  variable 
in  shape,  being  heart-shaped,  or  halberd-shaped,  Avith  the 
lobes  projecting,  and  it  is  not  rare  to  find  the  leaves 
deeply  lobed.  The  flower  of  the  Sweet  Potato  is,  in  shape, 
like  that  of  the  common  "  Morning  Glory,"  though  not 
quite  so  spreading ;  it  is  of  a  purplish  color  in  the  throat, 
and  white  on  the  margin.  The  plant  rarely  produces 
flowers  in  the  Northern  States,  but  in  the  far  South, 
7 


8  SWEET   POTATO    CULTURE. 

where  the  season  is  longer,  flowers  and  ripened  seeds  are 
not  rare.  The  plant,  as  it  runs  along  the  ground,  strikes 
root  at  every  joint,  or  node  ;  this  peculiarity,  while  ad- 
vantageous in  the  far  South,  where  the  season  is  long 
enough  for  such  roots  to  grow  to  a  useful  size,  are  a  dis- 
advantage to  the  Northern  cultivator,  who  lives  where 
the  season  is  barely  long  enough  for  the  principal  roots  to 
mature. 

VARIETIES    OF    THE   SWEET  POTATO. 

As  with  other  esculent  vegetables,  there  are  many 
varieties  of  the  Sweet  Potato ;  these  possess  widely  differ- 
ent qualities,  which  adapt  them  to  the  various  soils  and 
climates  of  the  several  sections  of  the  country.  Which 
particular  variety  will  be  best  suited  to  a  given  locality, 
can  only  be  ascertained  by  experimental  culture. 

The  Hanover  Sweet  Potato,  or  Nansemond  Im- 
proved.— The  superiority  of  the  Hanover  variety  may 
be  in  part  attributed  to  the  congenial  soil  and  climate  of 
the  lower  section  of  Virginia.  The  area  more  especially 
adapted  to  the  perfection  of  the  Sweet  Potato,  Hanover 
County,  is  limited,  yet  sufficiently  extensive  to  supply 
the  Richmond  market,  and  a  large  surplus  for  shipping. 
The  soil  is  a  grayish,  sandy  loam,  and  has  a  clay  sub- 
soil, varying  from  a  foot  to  many  feet  m  depth.  The 
fine  and  almost  impalpable  sand,  which  covers  most  of  its 
surface,  was  deposited  by  the  waters  of  the  ocean  ;  this, 
together  with  other  sources  of  fertility,  make  up  the 
finely  pulverized  soil  of  Hanover,  a  locality  tliat  supplies 
the  markets  of  Richmond  and  other  cities  with  various 
vegetable  productions.  What  are  the  elementary  consti- 
tuents of  this  soil  is  not  known,  and  we  have  no  reliable 
analysis.  "  Nature  seems  to  have  made  this  locality 
especially  for  a  garden  ;  here  the  Sweet  Potato  and  the 
Melon  find  their  own  home."    In  regard  to  the  Sweet 


THE  SWEET   POTATO.  9 

Potato  the  Editor  of  the  "  Southern  Planter  and  Farmer" 
once  said:  '*We  may  urge  what  we  please,  in  connec- 
tion with  the  Hanover  Sweet  Potato,  and  still  not  be 
deemed  extravagant  by  any  one  at  all  acquainted  with  the 
excellence  of  this  glorious  tuber."  An  intelligent  corre- 
spondent of  "  The  American  Farmer,"  Baltimore,  says  . 
"For  our  main  crop  of  Sweet  Potatoes  for  table  use,  we 
prefer  the  old  'Yellow  Sweet'  of  Maryland  and  Virginia, 
called  Yellow  Nansemond  at  the  North,  known  in  the 
lower  counties  of  the  Eastern  Shore,  and  the  maritime 
counties  of  Virginia,  and  further  south,  almost  exclu- 
sively by  that  name." 

The  Spanish  Potato. — In  tide-water  Virginia,  par- 
ticularly on  the  eastern  shore  of  both  Maryland  and 
Virginia,  every  farmer  grows,  besides  the  mam  crop,  a 
fevv  "Spanish  Potatoes"  for  home  use,  though  they  are 
not  usually  eaten  until  the  depth  of  winter,  when  they 
become  "fat,"  as  it  is  termed.  Those  who  have  never 
eaten  a  "  fat  "  Spanish  potato,  do  not  yet  know  the  capa- 
bilities of  the  Sweet  Potato.  But  the  "  Spanish  "  is  not 
productive,  and  it  requires  deeper  soil  and  better  culture 
for  its  long,  gmger-like  roots,  and  is  seldom  grown  for 
market.     This  correspondent  also  says,  in  regard  to 

"The  Southern  Queen":  "  It  is  the  earliest  of  all 
Sweet  Potatoes.  It  was  introduced  some  years  ago  from 
South  America.  It  is  in  eating  condition  here,  near 
Baltimore,  usually  by  the  middle  of  July,  and  when 
first  dug  is  generally  in  good  eating  condition.  As  the 
season  progresses,  and  during  the  fall  and  early  winter, 
they  are  generally  too  wet  to  suit  Southern  palates  ; 
while  during  this  time  the  Yellow  potatoes  are  in  their 
glory.  It  is  for  keeping  qualities  that  the  *  Southern 
Queen '  stands  unrivalled.  As  a  variety  to  begin  and 
prolong  the  Sweet  Potato  season,  there  is  nothing  to  com- 
pare with  the  *  Southern  Queen.'    The  root  is  very  large, 


10 


SWEET  POTATO   CCLTrRE. 


and  much  longer  tlian  that  of  the  Xanscmond  ;  is  of  a 
very  hglit  color,  and  is  said  to  be  unrivalled  as  to  keeping 
qualities.  The  vine  is  a  vigorous  grower,  and  the  leaves 
are  larger  and  darker  colored  than  those  of  the  Nanse- 
mond.  Wherever  it  has  been  tried,  a  high  estimate  has 
been  placed  upon  its  productiveness  and  good  quality." 
The  leaves  are  not  only  larger,  but  they  differ  in  shape 
from  those  of  the  more  common  varieties.  The  engraving. 


Fig.  1. 


Fig.  2. 


figure  1,  gives  a  leaf  of  the  Xanscmond,  and  figure  2  one 
of  the  Southern  Queen,  both  reduced  in  the  same  pro- 
portion. 

The  Naxsemond.  —Next  to  the  "Ilanover,"  or 
*'  Nansemond  Improved,"  this^otato  is  in  highest  repute 
in  Northern  markets,  where  it  is  called  the  Yellow  Nan- 
semond. It  takes  its  name  from  the  south-eastern 
county  of  Virginia,  whore  it  is  said  to  have  originated. 
Tliis,  and  other  kinds,  when  propagated  at  the  North, 
axe  less  sweet  and  less  highly  flavored  than  those  pro- 
duced in  a  warmer  climate.  The  New  Jersey  and  Dela- 
ware Sweet  Potatoes,  which  are  marketed  in  New  Eng- 
land, though  palatable  and  largely  consumed,  and  bring 


THE  SWEET   POTATO.  11 

good  prices,  are  decidedly  inferior  to  those  raised  in  Vir- 
ginia. We  are  informed  that  excellent  Sweet  Potatoes 
are  raised  in  Southern  Illinois,  latitude  37*^ — 38°,  while 
those  produced  in  Central  Illinois,  latitude  40°,  arc 
"watery,"  and  comparatively  insipid. 

The  Royal  Sweet  Potato  of  Hanover. — The  Edi- 
tor of  the  "  Southern  Planter  and  Farmer,"  Richmond, 
Va.,  says,  in  regard  to  this  variety  :  ''  It  was  our  good 
fortune  to  especially  examine  these  magnificent  Sweet 
Potatoes,  exhibited  at  the  State  Fair  by  Mr.  A.  Tinsley, 
of  Hanover,  and  others.  We  doubt  if  anything  so  fine 
as  these  potatoes  has  ever  been  seen  before  in  this  State; 
we  certainly  never  have  seen  anything  like  them  ;  and  in 
this  judgment  Col.  B.  Johnson  Barber,  and  others,  fully 
agreed  with  us.  And  to  think  of  two  hundred  and 
forty-five  bushels  to  the  acre!"  This  "Royal  Sweet 
Potato,"  we  suppose,  is  identical  with  the  Hanover  Im- 
pi'oved,  or  the  Nansomond.  It  is  not  uncommon  to  find 
the  same  variety  of  fruits  or  vegetables  in  different  sec- 
tions under  distinct  names,  and  the  writer  has  been  quite 
recently  reminded  of  this  in  the  case  of  Sweet  Potatoes. 

The  Yam  Family  of  Sweet  Potatoes. — These  con- 
sist of  the  "  White "  and  "  Yellow  Bermuda,"  the 
*'  White  California,"  and  others.  The  roots  are  short 
and  heavy,  with  red  or  white  skin.  They  grow  very 
large,  especially  in  light,  sandy  soils.  Tiie  "White 
iTam,"  and  "  Yellow  Spanish,"  are,  in  the  South,  con- 
sidered the  most  luscious  and  excellent  of  all  potatoes  for 
home  use,  though  their  exportation  is  limited. 

A  Western  farmer,  who  claims  to  have  extensive  ex- 
perience in  the  cultivation  of  Sweet  Potatoes,  gives  his 
judgment  concerning  some  of  the  leading  varieties,  as 
follow  s  : 

"  The  '  Yellow  Pimento '  has  given  the  host  satisfac- 
tion, in  every  respect,  of  any  kinds  we  have  tried.     It  is 


12  SWEET  POTATO   CULTURE. 

very  productive,  and  of  excellent  quality,  yielding  always 
about  double  that  others  do.  The  *  Yellow  Pimento  '  is 
also  a  good  keeper  and  a  good  sprouter. 

"  The  •  White  Brazilian '  is  a  very  good  potato, 
although  the  quality  is  not  quite  so  good  as  that  of 
the  Pimento.  This  is  the  largest  variety  I  grow,  speci- 
mens often  weighing  from  four  to  seven  pounds.  This 
is  a  shy  sprouter,  and  hard  to  keep  over  winter. 

**'*Red  Bermuda'  is  very  productive,  early,  a  good 
sprouter,  and  keeps  well,  but  is  of  rather  inferior  quality. 

'•  '  White  Bermuda  '  is  not  quite  so  productive  as  the 
Red,  but  superior  to  it  in  quality. 

"  '  Southern  Queen '  has,  with  me,  proved  to  be  a  very 
good  potato,  about  as  early  as  the  Bermudas,  productive, 
of  nice  shape  ;  is  a  good  keeper,  easy  to  cultivate  and 
dig,  although  the  quality  is  not  of  the  very  best. 

''The  '  Eed  Spanish'  is  of  good  quality,  very  pro- 
ductive, and,  I  think,  will  sujx^rsede  some  of  the  less 
valuable  sorts  when  its  qualities  are  more  generally  known. 

''The  'Yellow'  and  'Red  Xansemond,'  the  'Early 
Y'ork,'  and  '  Early  Jersey,'  are  all  old  and  standard  sorts, 
and  so  well  known  that  it  is  unnecessary  for  me  to  de- 
scribe them.  Their  quality  is  first-rate  ;  but  they  do  not, 
with  us,  yield  equal  to  some  of  the  newer  varieties. 

"  The  '  Mexican,'  or  '  Bahama  Yam,'  introduced  some 
few  years  ago,  has  the  reputation  of  being  a  very  pro- 
ductive variety.  A  vigorous  grower  ;  tuber  glubular  ; 
skin  dull  white  ;  pale  yellow  within  ;  an  early  variety, 
and  the  best  for  the  table,  when  first  dug,  of  all  this  class 
of  tubers.  It  is  said  to  keep  well  if  properly  cared  for, 
and  produces  large  crops." 

Other  Varieties. — 1st.  "Porto  Viejo." — Very  large, 
sweet,  and  abundant  ;  skin,  dark-red  ;  flesh,  deep  pink. 

2nd.  "Boca  Sagarto." — Xot  so  large,  but  very  sweet, 
and  of  better  flavor. 


PRODUCTIVEXESa    AND    PROFITS.  13 

3rd.  "  Xina." — Still  better,  but  rather  smaller  ;  excel- 
lent  flavor,  and  very  sweet. 

These  three  varieties  are  very  distinct 

Ist.  Skin,  dark-red ;   flesh,  deep  pink. 

2d.  Skin,  light  pink ;  flesh,  yellowish  white.  The  aver- 
age weight  of  these  tubers  is  about  one  and  one-quarter 
to  one  and  one-half  pound. 

3d.  Skin  and  flesh  yellowish  white. 

These  potatoes  were  introduced  by  M.  C.  Montjoy,  TJ. 
S.  Consul  to  Peru,  in  1878,  being  the  leading  standard 
varieties  of  that  country. 


CHAPTER   II. 
PRODUCTIVENESS    AND    PROFITS. 

The  average  productive  capacity  of  the  Sweet  Potato 
depends,  of  course,  mainly  on  soil,  climate,  and  culture. 
In  Brown  County,  Ohio,  Wm.  Meyer,  Esq.,  raised  on 
nine  rods  twenty-three  bushels  of  yellow  Sweet  Potatoes, 
at  a  cost  of  between  five  and  six  dollars.  Soil,  a  light 
loam,  without  manure.  In  Hanover  County,  Virginia, 
the  average  is  from  one  hundred  to  one  hundred  and 
fifty  bushels  per  acre.  As  high  as  three  hundred  bushels 
have  been  reached,  which,  at  the  average  price  of  seventy- 
five  cents  per  bushel,  would  give  a  return  of  two  hundred 
and  twenty-five  dollars  per  acre.  Many  planters  sell 
their  early  select  tubers  at  one  dullar  per  bushel. 

The  potatoes  exhibited  at  the  State  Fair  at  Richmond, 
in  18TT,  by  Adolphus  Talley,  Esq.,  of  Hanover  County, 
were  of  a  crop  that  yielded  two  hundred  and  forty-five 
bushels  to  the  acre. 


14  SWEET    POTATO    CULTURE. 

In  Nansemoiid,  Norfolk,  and  other  maritime  counties, 
the  average  is  believed  to  be  still  larger.  In  Georgia 
three  hundred  bushels  per  acre  have  been  raised.  Statis- 
tics in  regard  to  the  Sweet  Potato  are  exceedingly  meagre, 
it  not  having,  heretofore,  been  a  main  crop,  except  in 
limited  districts.  This  is  attributable  mostly  to  ignor- 
ance and  carelessness  in  the  methods  of  preservation  from 
decay,  rendering  profits  uncertain,  except  where  naviga- 
tion and  railroad  facilities  are  at  hand. 

When  we  shall  have  devised  better  means  for  curing 
the  potatoes  for  foreign  shipment,  the  increase  of  produc- 
tion will  doubtless  be  augmented  beyond  calculation. 
This  being  secured,  Covent  Garden,  London,  and  other 
great  marts  of  trade,  would  require  vast  quantities  of 
this  luscious  product  of  the  sandy  lands  of  our  Southern 
country  ;  and,  when  this  is  successfully  accomplished,  the 
Sweet  Potato  crop  might  become  as  valuable  as  one-half 
the  cotton  crop. 


CHAPTER    III. 
USES    OF   THE    SWEET  POTATO. 

In  the  year  18G8,  0.  II.  Marshall,  of  Vicksburg,  Miss., 
forwarded  to  the  Department  of  Agriculture  specimens 
of  Sweet  Potatoes  dried  (varieties  not  named),  and  also 
some  converted  into  meal.  In  June,  18G9,  additional 
samples  were  forwarded,  with  the  request  to  have  them 
examined  in  the  laboratory.  The  specimens,  both  sliced 
and  flour,  were  white,  the  root  slices  being  covered  with 
thin  white  powder  (starch  grains)  and  on  cracking  the 
slice  across,  the  center  had,  in  few  instances,  altered  its 


USES   OF  THE   SWEET   POTATO.  15 

color.     The  meal  had  a  slight,  yellow-ljrown  tinge.    The- 
following  is  a  part  of  the  result  of  the  analysis  : 

Average  of  Two  Analyses. 

Moisture 7.95 

Organic  Matter 88.90 

Ash- 3.15 

Organic  Matter =89. 

Cellulose 6.750 

Starch 65. 290 

Albumen 1.214 

Sugar 14. 830 

Fat .810 

88.894 
(We  omit  the  balance  of  the  analysis). 

*'No  fermentation  of  any  kind  appears  to  have  Ijeeu 
set  up  in  the  potato  during  or  since  the  act  of  dryit:g  ; 
the  vegetable  acids  are  quite  readily  distinguishaole. 
The  grains  of  starch  are  irregularly  rounded,  and  smaller 
even  than  those  of  wheat  starch.  This  capability  of  being 
dried  without  alteration,  is  a  feature  of  great  im})ortance, 
as  this  material  can  be  a  source  of  food  for  cattle  during 
the  winter  months,  and,  indeed,  during  times  of  scarcity, 
might  be  used  by  man.  Another  point  of  interest  con- 
cerning this  root,  is  the  large  amount  of  sugar  which  it 
yields  in  the  dried  state,  over  fourteen  per  cent.  This 
sugar  is  altogether  in  the  form  of  cane  sugar  ;  if  the  flour 
be  mixed  with  cold  water,  no  glucose  can  be  detected  in 
it,  and  if  the  dialysing  fluid  be  not  heated  above  one  hun- 
dred degrees  Fahrenheit,  no  glucose  is  affoided  ;  when 
boiled  it  begins  to  appear,  and  gradually  augments.  On 
account  of  the  abundance  of  the  sugar  contents,  and  its 
condition  as  cane  sugar,  this  tuber  might  possibly  become 
a  source  of  sugar  manufacture." 

Sweet  Potatoes,  especially  those  with  red  skins,  yield  a 
considerable  quantity  of  farinaceous  matter,  which  forms 
a  fine,  nutritious  Jelly  when  mixed  with  water.  "■  Bow- 
en's  Patent  Sago  "  is  the  powder,  which  was  prepared  by 


16  SWEET    POTATO   CULTURE. 

a  person  of  the  above  name,  at  Savannah,  Georgia,  chiefly 
for  export  to  England,  for  the  British  army. 

The  process  was  similar  to  that  which  is  well  known  in 
Europe,  for  procuring  flour  of  the  common  or  Irish 
potato,  viz  :  by  grating  the  clean  roots,  washing  the  mass 
through  brass  sieves  of  different  sizes,  and  collecting  the 
starch  at  the  bottom  of  the  vessel  which  receives  the 
fluid;  finally  it  is  dried  on  pans,  either  in  the  sun  or  by 
other  means. 

The  late  much  lamented  Dr.  G.  W.  Briggs,  of  Nanse- 
mond  Co.,  Va.,  who  was  a  popular  horticultural  writer 
and  farmer,  furnished  "■  The  American  Farmer  "  the  fol- 
lowing appreciation  of  the  Sweet  Potato  : 

*'  One  of  the  most  valuable  and  useful  crops  grown  on 
the  farm  for  family  use;  in  March,  April,  and  May,  when 
other  vegetables  are  scarce,  this  is  the  vegetable  indis- 
pensable. We  make  of  it  potato  custards,  Sweet  Potato 
pies,  spiced  with  wine  sauce,  potato  pudding,  and  boiled 
entire,  peeled  and  sliced,  a  la  Yankee  style,  (dressed  with 
butter,  but  no  salt,  if  you  please),  it  is  an  excellent  dish. 
With  us  the  universal  custom  is  to  bake  slowly  and  long, 
putting  them  on  for  dinner  soon  after  breakfast,  and 
sending  them  to  the  table  hot  and  in  their  own  skins ; 
peeled  and  dressed  with  butter,  or  gravy  from  the  roast 
fowl,  few  persons  will  reject  them. 

"  In  the  exhausting  diarrhoea  of  teething  children 
during  the  summer,  our  people  use  and  find  roasted 
Sweet  Potatoes  an  excellent  food  and  a  remedy  for  this 
disease  in  their  little  ones."  We  think  this  of  great 
value,  and  should  be  widely  known,  as  it  suffices  both 
for  food  and  medicine. 

*'  Sliced  and  dried,  they  may  be  sent  on  long  sea  voy- 
ages, or  ground  into  flour,  make  excellent  bread.  AVe 
have  seen  it  used  to  cheapen  wheat  flour,  the  boiled  po- 
tatoes being  mixed  with  it  for  bread  and  biscuit. 

*'  The  first  digging,  for  family  use  in  summer,  should 


USES   OF   THE   SWEET   POTATO.  17 

be  exposed  to  tlie  sun  before  using  to  sweeten  them.  In 
August  and  September,  in  this  County,  you  will  find 
them  lying  exposed,  for  this  purpose,  on  the  flat  sliud  roof 
of  most  farm-houses, 

"■  To  cook  them,  when  dried  as  hard  as  chips,  it  is  only 
necessary  to  pour  boiling  water  over  them  the  night  be- 
fore they  are  wanted,  and  next  day  boil,  peel,  and  dress 
with  butter." 

In  our  estimation  nothing  can  be  more  palatable  than 
a  portion  of  fat,  juicy  sirloin  of  beef,  roasted  brown,  in 
a  large  dish  surrounded  by  baked  "  Yellow  Nanse- 
monds,"  partially  immersed  in  the  hot  gravy,  and  smok- 
ing on  the  dming-table  ! 

In  this  region  the  yellow  varieties  are  sweetest  and 
best  for  the  table,  and  are  largely  cultivated  for  family 
use  ;  and,  with  the  superior  modes  of  keeping  practised 
all  through  the  potato  regions,  they  may  be  kept  in 
good  condition  until  late  in  the  spring.  The  new,  early 
sorts,  make  it  easy  for  those  who  desire  it,  to  have  Sweet 
Potatoes  for  table  use  the  year  through. 

*' Sweet  Potato  Bread." — Take  one  cupful  of  mashed 
Sweet  Potatoes  ;  one  cupful  of  corn-meal ;  one  cupful  of 
flour  ;  one  cupful  of  milk  ;  two  eggs  ;  one  teaspoonful  of 
salt  ;  two  teaspoonfuls  of  baking-powder ;  mix  quickly, 
and  if  too  stiff,  add  more  milk  ;  bake  in  a  hot  oven. 
There  is  nothing  more  wholesome  or  palatable  than  this 
bread. 

As  a  luxury  and  for  profit  m  many  sections  of  the  coun- 
try, the  ''sweets"  have  greatly  the  advantage  of  the 
"Irish."  Cooked  m  any  way  or  shape,  they  are  appre- 
ciated as  one  of  the  blessings  and  comforts  of  life  that  no 
family  can  afford  to  be  without,  when  it  is  possible  to 
procure  them. 


18  SNYEET    POTATO    CULTURE. 

CHAPTER     IV. 
USES    OF    THE    VINES    AND    LEAVES. 

The  vines  aud  leaves  compose  a  large  and  valuable 
portion  of  the  plant.  They  should  be  used  for  the  fol- 
lowing reasons  : 

1st.  They  are  believed  to  contain  all  the  elements  of 
plant-food  and  fertility  claimed  for  the  Southern  Cow 
Pea,  or  for  Red  Clover,  aud  to  be  superior  to  these  in 
some  respects.  When  spread  upon  the  soil  and  turned 
under,  they  decompose  more  readily  than  either  of  these, 
especially  when  in  a  green  state. 

•2ud.  As  food  for  stock,  green  or  dry,  they  are  con- 
sidered to  be  equal  to  the  best  hay,  and  cattle  devour 
them  greedily.  They  are  regarded  as  especially  valuable 
as  food  for  milch  cows.- 

3rd.  For  mulching  fruit  trees,  when  half  rotted,  they 
form  the  verv  best  material,  and  may  be  used  with  equal 
advantage  as  mulch  for  other  purposes. 

ith.  The  Sweet  Potato  vine,  for  ornamental  purposes, 
is  desirable  as  a  plant  to  grow  in  the  house.  It  is  a  rapid 
<7rower.  and.  m  house  culture,  is  much  more  delicate  m 
appearance  than  when  growing  out  of  doors.  Select,  the 
earlier  the  better,  a  well-ripened  tuber  of  the  Red  Xanse- 
mond  variety,  known  to  be  a  most  vigorous  grower,  eight 
or  ten  inches  long,  and  four  or  five  inches  m  diameter. 
A  dark-colored  hyacinth  glass  is  a  suitable  and  prcttv 
holder  for  the  potato,  but  a  common  glass  fruit  can,  or 
small  earthen  jar,  will  do.  Fill  the  vessel  with  rain- 
water, and  stand  the  potato,  stem  end  uppermost,  m  the 
mouth  of  it.  allowing  only  two  or  three  inches  of  the 
potato  to  go  down  into  the  water.  Set  it  in  a  warm, 
hght  place,  to  sprout,  filling  up  the  jar  or  glass  with 


ADAPTATION    TO    LOCALITIES.  19 

water  as  fast  as  it  evaporates.  Probably  a  great  many 
sprouts  will  start  at  once,  or  in  quick  succession  ;  break 
off  all  but  three  or  four  of  these,  as  the  vine  will,  by  so 
doing,  be  much  longer  and  more  luxuriant.  Xotbing 
now  will  be  needed  for  the  well-being  of  the  \'ine,  except 
to  keep  the  vessel  filled  with  rain-water. 


CHAPTER    V. 
ADAPTATION    TO    LOCALITIES. 

The  Sweet  Potato  is  not  only  at  home  in  all  the 
Southern  States,  but  is  produced  in  large  quantities  in 
Central  Xew  Jersey,  Delaware,  and  Central  Illinois,  lati- 
itude  forty  degrees  ;  it  has  also  been  successfully  raised  in 
gardens  in  nearly  the  coldest  parts  of  the  State  of  Xew 
York,  as  well  as  in  Maine,  Southern  Minnesota,  at  St. 
Paul,  which  is  in  latitude  forty-four  to  forty-five  degrees. 
It  is  probable  that,  under  northern  cultivation,  varieties 
may  originate  especially  adapted  to  cold  climates,  so 
that,  were  it  needful,  its  profitable  cultivation  might 
be  extended  several  degrees  of  latitude  northward,  a?  is 
said  to  have  happened  in  Europe  vdih  regard  to  maize, 
for  which  it  is  asserted  that  forty-six  degrees  north  lati- 
tude, was  formerly  the  limit,  whereas  now  it  is  cultivated 
nearly  to  fifty-two  degrees. 

With  a  climate  and  soil  such  as  tide-water  Virginia, 
and  other  maritime  sections,  possess,  there  is  no  reason 
why  every  family  should  not  be  abundantly  supplied  with 
these  nutritious  tubers,  and  should  also  furnish  for  mar- 
ket, to  a  large  extent,  all  le-s  favored  sections. 

Various  portions  of  the  AVest  are  well  adapted  to  tht 


20  SWEET   POTATO    CULTURE, 

Sweet  Potato,  and  it  will  grow  in  almost  any  part  of  the 
Tonii)erate  Zone,  in  light  soil  and  southern  exposure, 
with  })roper  care. 

In  LaFourche  Parish,  Louisiana,  Sweet  Potatoes  grow 
to  great  perfection.  As  far  north-west  as  Kent  County, 
and  other  parts  of  Michigan,  the  soil  seems  well  adapted 
to  their  growth,  and  the  season  sufficiently  long. 

In  Florida  the  Sweet  Potato  is  considered  one  of  the 
most  valuable  of  esculent  roots.  Philosophers  say  the 
Banana  is  the  greatest  and  cheapest  food  gift  to  man,  hut 
the  Sweet  Potato,  as  cultivated  m  Florida,  disputes  the 
palm.  It  is  not  only  wholesome  and  nutritious  in  the 
highest  degree,  but  as^  to  the  best  varieties,  they  are  de- 
licious as  footl.  Their  power  of  reproduction  it  is  diffi- 
cult to  over-state.  We  never  heard  a  good  farmer  at- 
tempt to  fix  a  limit  to  it,  and  it  is  well-nigh  illimitable. 
In  the  olden  time,  down  in  Florida,  the  prudent  planters 
grew  prodigious  quantities,  and  banking  them  up  in  the 
fall,  allowed  the  plantation  hands  to  help  themselves,  ad 
libitum,  for  their  own  use,  and  occasionally  permitted 
faithful  Sambo  to  haul  them  to  market  on  his  own  ac- 
count, in  the  great  plantation  wagons,  from  which  they 
were  sold  at  a  mere  nominal  price  per  bushel,  scarcely 
realizing  the  cost  of  hauling. 

From  what  we  have  given  above,  some  idea  can  be 
formed  of  the  adaptability  and  wide  range  of  this  escu- 
lent. The  general  information  in  regard  to  the  Sweet 
Potato,  being  heretofore  limited,  and  the  ignorance  in 
regard  to  its  pro])agation,  cultnre,  and  keeping,  have  had 
a  tendency  to  suppress  public  incpiiry  to  considerable  ex- 
tent, hence  its  culture  has  remained  in  the  back-ground 
of  horticultural  pursuits. 


SUITABLE   SOILS  AND   MANURES.  21 

CHAPTER    VI. 
SUITABLE    SOILS    AND    MANURES. 

Although  .1  sandy  and  loamy  soil,  and  mild  climate, 
are  conditions  most  favorable  to  the  Sweet  Potato,  yet 
the  wide  range  in  which  it  is  known  to  flourish,  proves 
that  soils  of  different  character  will  suffice  for  its  profita- 
ble production  ;  and,  it  can  not  be  denied  that  noble 
specimens  are  often  grown  in  various  soils,  if  not  cold 
and  heavy  ;  especially  if  grown  on  new  lands,  well  pre- 
pared, abounding  with  humus  ai.d  potash.  Even  light, 
slaty  soils,  with  warm  exposure  and  suitable  manures, 
will  insure  remunerative  returns.  The  Fluvanna  County 
lands,  that  i)roduce  the  finest  Virginia  tobacco,  are  also 
well  adapted  to  the  Sweet  Potato.  These  lands  are 
light,  with  a  moderate  proportion  of  sand.  Other  soils 
of  Piedmont,  Virginia,  especially  around  Charlottesville, 
produce  fine  potatoes,  which  supply  the  home  market  at 
Charlottesville,  and  some  for  export.  It  is  a  well  estab- 
lished fact  as  to  soil,  that  a  sandy  loam  is  the  best,  and  a 
stiff  clay  the  worst,  for  any  variety  of  Sweet  Potato. 

The  fine,  and  almost  impalpable  sand,  which  covers 
most  of  the  surface  that  constitutes  the  market  gar- 
dening section  of  Hanover,  Va.,  seldom  occurs  in  other 
regions,  and  this  peculiarity  of  soil,  that  produces  the 
finest  of  Sweet  Potatoes,  may  not  be  attainable  elsewhere. 
Still,  the  best  results  are  often  secured  in  less  favored 
places. 

One  of  our  best  cultivators  says  :  ^'For  Sweet  Potatoes 
of  any  variety,  select  a  light  piece  of  land,  in  only  mod- 
erately good  heart ;  give  a  good  dressing  of  wood-ashes 
only,  and  there  will  bo  but  little  d_oubt  of  a  good  crop, 
if  kept  clean  and  well  ridged  up.  This  ridging  up  in 
Sweet  Potato  culture,  is  more  important  than  in  the  cul- 


22  SWEET   POTATO   CULTURE. 

turc  of  almost  any  otlier  crop ;  it  is  advantageous  tc 
plant  on  land  that  was  cultivated  in  other  hoed  crops 
the  previous  year.  A  piece  of  land  on  Avhich  corn 
is  apt  to  burn  badly,  is  considered  best  for  Sweet  Pota- 
toes ;  "and  it  is  observed  that  hot,  dry  summers.  In  which 
other  crops  fail,  serve  to  develop  this  esculent  in  size, 
and  in  all  its  sweetness  and  fine  flavor." 

A  potato  grower  in  Maryland  advises  those  who  would 
grow  good  potatoes,  at  least  in  his  latitude,  not  to  use 
animal  manures  on  their  crops.  He  says  that  the  large 
market  growers  of  the  Peninsula  found  this  out  long  ago, 
but  most  private  growers  continue  to  ruin  their  Sweet 
Potatoes  by  using  stable  manure  ;  and  that,  m  his  ex- 
perience, the  best  results  have  been  obtained  from  wood- 
ashes,  or  a  compost  of  wood-ashes  and  marsh-turf,  made 
fine,  and  spread  broadcast  before  plowing.  We  admit 
that  the  lavish  use  of  crude,  coarse,  stable  manure  would 
injure  the  crop,  or  almost  any  other  crop,  but  if  well- 
rotted  stable,  or  barn -yard  and  stable  manure,  well  pul- 
verized and  mixed,  were  applied  judiciously,  we  appre- 
hend good  results  would  always  follow.  Indeed,  this 
practice  is  used  extensively,  and  with  obvious  advantage, 
in  places  where  wood-mould  and  ashes  cannot  be  obtained. 

In  Nansemond  County,  Va.,  as  a  fertilizer  for  the 
Sweet  Potato,  Baltimore  stable  manure  is  used  to  the 
value  of  fifty  dollars  per  acre.  Tliis  is  composted  with 
an  equal  bulk  of  wood-mould  in  the  drill.  This  manure 
costs  from  one  dollar  and  thirty  to  one  dollar  and  fifty 
cents  per  cart  load  of  twenty  bushels. 

Mr.  James  G.  Tinsley,  of  Hanover,  prefers,  for  the 
Sweet  Potato,  a  light,  sandy  soil,  or  any  soil  well  mixed 
with  sand.  Stable  manure,  he  says,  is  the  best  fertilizer, 
and  after  that,  cow-pen  manure.  In  his  section,  mould 
from  tlie  woods,  and  pine-tags,  arc  used  in  large  quanti- 
ties, the  same  land  being  often  put  in  potatoes.  Ho  con- 
tinues, ' '  I  never  have  been  able  to  make  good  Sweet  Po- 


SUITABLE  SOILS  AND  MANURES.  23 

tatoes  with  gnano  or  artificial  fertilizers  alone  ;  but  it  ia 
necessary  to  supjJy  coarser  manure  of  some  kind  to  mis 
with  it." 

"  The  value  of  ashes,"  according  to  a  statement  of  Dr. 
Briggs,  of  Nansemond,  "for  the  potato,  or,  indeed,  for 
almost  any  crop,  I  can  testify  from  experience.  Thirty 
years  ago  my  father  grew  Sweet  Potatoes  in  twenty  or 
more  patches,  for  Northern  markets,  and  used  sloop 
loads  of  ashes  for  several  years.  His  experience  was, 
that  the  ashes  were  the  cheapest  and  most  enduring  fer- 
tilizer for  the  potato  crop  he  ever  tried.  The  leached 
ashes  were  used  Ijroadcast,  about  one  hundred  and  twenty 
bushels  to  the  acre,  and  cost  ten  cents  per  bushel  at  the 
Norfolk  soap  factory.  The  drills  were  filled  with  wood- 
mould  composted  with  farm-yard  manure."  A  friend  of 
ours,  the  present  season,  sold  nearly  one  thousand  one 
hundred  barrels  from  ten  acres  ;  they  were  heavily  ma- 
nured with  stable  manure  composted  with  wood-mould. 

We  extract  from  a  valuable  paper  on  the  Sweet  Potato, 
furnished  by  one  of  the  Farmers'  Clubs  of  Middle  Geor- 
gia, by  Capt.  Pope  Barrow,  of  Oglethrope  County,  the 
following  in  regard  to  fertilizers  : 

"Sandy  loam  is  the  most  favorable  soil  for  the  growth 
of  this  crop,  in  this  section,  and  it  seems  to  be  alike  suit- 
able to  all  varieties.  As  to  manures,  the  best  results  in 
this  neighborhood  have  been  obtained  by  the  use  of 
Superjihosphate  of  Lime.  In  some  cases  the  most  aston- 
ishing yield  has  been  obtained  by  the  use  of  one  hundred 
and  fifty  pounds  of  Sulphate  of  Soda,  and  Nitrate  of 
Soda,  i.  e.,  seventy-five  pounds  of  each,  per  acre.  This 
however,  was  applied  as  a  top-dressing. "  Other  farmers 
in  Georgia  break  the  ground  deep,  open  wide  furrows, 
put  in  plenty  of  well-rotted  manure,  or  some  good  super- 
phosphate. 

The  soils  used  for  the  Sweet  Potato  in  the  alluvial  dis- 
tricts of  the  West  and  Southwest,   we   presume,  have 


24  SWEET   rOTATO   CULTURE. 

plenty  of  liumus,  ])()tash,  and  otlier  factors  fnvorable  to 
the  j)rodiiction  of  this  esculent  in  great  i)crfection  ;  and, 
we  judge,  these  compensate  for  sandy  loam,  and  give 
jihintrrs  advantages  scarcely  surpassed  in  the  best  potato 
districts. 


CHAPTER   VII. 
PROPAGATION    OF   THE    SWEET   POTATO. 

Propagation,  or  multiplication,  of  the  Sweet  Potato 
is  as  varied  as  with  any  other  plant,  and  it  is  effected 
more  readily  and  to  greater  extent,  than  is  practicable 
with  many  otlier  vegetables.  Indeed,  there  are  methods 
used  for  this  jiurpose  that  insure  reproduction  almost 
indefinitely. 

Seed  Potatoes. — As  like  produces  like,  the  potatoes 
selected  for  seed  should  be  short,  sound,  straight,  and 
smooth,  and  from  three-fourths  of  an  inch,  to  one  and 
a  quarter  inch  in  diameter.  "When  taken  from  the  cellar 
or  pit,  tliey  should  be  carefully  handled,  and  put  down 
immediately,  as  rough  carriage  bruises  them,  and  causes 
rot  to  commence,  which  continues  afterwards  in  the  bed. 

Bedding  the  Potato. —  The  Hanover  Potato  bed 
generally  contains  three  bushels,  or  the  double  beds  arc 
made  with  six,  about  ten  feet  Ijmg  by  four  broad,  facing 
the  south.  Larger  beds  are  made  for  extensive  cultiva- 
tion. The  bed  is  dug  about  eighteen  inches  deep,  and  is 
filled  for  six  inches  with  oak  leaves,  or  small  corn-stalks, 
and  well  Avatercd,  and  well  stamped  down  with  the  feet. 
Manure  is  then  brought  fresh  from  the  stable,  and 
applied  to  the  depth  of  one  foot  ;  and  this  is  covered  to 
the  depth  of  four  inches  with  good  mould,  generally  from 


PROPAGATION   OF  THE   SWEET   POTATO.  25 

the  yard  (not  pine-mould)  and  powdered,  all  lumps  being 
removed.  In  this  region  the  beds  are  put  down  from  the 
tenth  to  the  thirtieth  of  March,  and  later  cold  beds  with- 
out cover  are  made.  The  potatoes  are  generally  put  down 
so  as  not  to  touch  each  other,  to  prevent  rot,  if  it  com- 
mences in  one,  from  extending  to  others.  The  open 
space  above  the  mould,  is  covered  with  hay  or  pine  trash, 
to  exclude  the  air,  and  keep  all  the  heat  in  the  bed,  and 
the  cover  put  down  close,  which  is  well  packed  around 
the  edges  with  the  same  material.  In  twenty-four  hours 
the  heat  may  commence  rising,  and  careful  attention 
should  now  be  given,  lest  the  heat  be  too  great.  If  the 
weather  is  good,  the  bed  should  be  opened  about  nine 
A.M.,  to  the  warm  sun,  and  closed  again  at  three  P.M. 
If  above  a  milk- warm  heat,  water  should  be  applied  daily 
for  a  week  or  ten  days,  and  if  very  great,  holes  should  be 
made  with  a  stake  or  crowbar,  put  down  every  twelve  or 
fourteen  inches,  and  then  withdrawn.  When  the  shoots 
are  about  three  or  four  inches  high,  and  the  weather  is 
warm,  the  first  plants  can  be  drawn  carefully,  one  at  a 
time,  with  the  right  hand,  the  left  hand  holding  the 
ground  firmly,  to  prevent  the  potato  from  being  disturbed 
or  drawn  up  ;  a  sidewise  pull  is  best.  In  five  weeks  from 
putting  down  beds,  the  plantmg  should  commence,  in 
order  to  allow  room  for  the  second  and  third  growth  of 
sprouts,  planting  after  each  shower  during  the  month  of 
May,  and  to  the  middle  of  June,  and  on  northern  slope? 
to  the  first  of  July. 

The  old  plan  of  reproduction  is  given  in  "  The  Com. 
plete  Gardener  and  Florist." — 'SSweet  Potatoes  may  b(i 
raised  in  the  vicinity  of  New  York  by  means  of  a  hot- 
bed ;  they  should  be  planted  whole,  early  in  April,  three 
or  four  inches  deep,  and  about  the  same  distance  apart. 
[Instead  of  being  placed  three  or  four  inches  apart,  as 
above  directed,  they  need  be  only  half  an  inch  apart, 
just  so  as  not  to  touch  each  other.]  In  about  a  month 
2 


26  SWEET   POTATO   CULTURE. 

they  will  throw  up  sjirouts.  When  these  are  three  oi 
four  inches  above  ground,  if  the  season  is  good,  part  them 
ofE  from  the  potato,  without  disturbing  it,  which,  if  suf- 
fered to  remain,  will  produce  more  s2)routs  for  a  suc- 
cessive planting  ;  plant  them  immediately  on  ridges  or  in 
hills."  It  was  the  practice  of  the  late  Joseph  Cooper,  of 
New  Jersey,  to  set  three  or  four  sprouts  in  a  hill  or  place, 
for  the  reason  that  the  rampant  growth  of  vines  checked 
and  smothered  the  growth  of  weeds,  causing  less  work 
with  the  hoe. 

A  moderate  hot-l)ed,  Cve  feet  square,  put  down  early 
m  the  month  of  April,  with  a  half-peck  of  good,  sound, 
Sweet  Potatoes  placed  therein,  will  produce  a  siiccession 
of  rooted  sprouts  or  sli])s  in  May  and  June,  which,  if 
planted  and  managed  carefully,  will  yield  about  fifteen 
bushels  of  Sweet  Potatoes. 

To  Eaise  Early  Potatoes. — A  correspondent  from 
the'  South  gives  the  following  mode  of  obtaining  early 
Sweet  Potatoes,  which  has  been  practised  for  twenty 
years  without  a  failure  : 

"  Early  in  March  I  make  a  hot-bed,  by  setting  up  edge- 
wise four  planks,  or  boards,  twelve  inches  wide,  and  driv- 
ing down  small  stakes  on  the  outside  to  keep  them  up. 
I  fill  this  box  or  frame  with  fresh  horse-manure  (if  mixed 
with  litter  to  some  extent  it  will  answer),  that  has  been 
kept  dry,  tramping  it  down  until  it  is  eight  inches  deep 
in  the  frame.  I  then  cover  the  manure  with  rich  earth, 
two  inches  deep,  upon  which  I  spread  potatoes  or  yams 
thickly,  but  not  touching  each  other,  and  cover  them 
with  two  inches  of  rich  earth.  I  then  raise  one  side  of 
my  frame  (the  north)  six  inches,  and  cover  well  with 
four-foot  boards,  to  keep  off  all  rain,  until  the  slips  are 
up.  I  almost  invariably  have  them  up  in  two  weeks, 
when  I  take  off  the  cover  and  water  freely  with  soajj-suds 
or  water.     Insert  the  hand,  every  few   days,  into   the 


PROPAGATIOK   OF   TOE    SWEET   POTATO.  S7 

manure,  to  see  if  it  is  more  than  agreeably  warm  to  the 
hand.  If  so,  uncover  for  a  few  days,  but  do  not  let  it 
rain  upon  the  bed  before  the  piants  are  up,  as  it  would 
get  too  hot.  Slips  can  be  obtained  in  this  way  so  early 
that  they  will  have  to  be  protected  from  the  frost,  and  in 
larger  quantities  from  a  peck  than  from  a  bushel  by  the 
usual  method.  If  well  watered,  slips  may  be  drawn 
every  week  from  the  first  of  April  until  into  July.  I  set 
tliem  out  when  the  ground  is  dry,  and  pour  half  a  pint 
of  water  around  each  slip,  and  cover  with  dry  earth." 

Method  of  Bedding  Seed  Potatoes — (By  a  Vir- 
ginia Planter). — "  Select  some  dry  time  to  dig.  In  the 
meantime,  procure  pine-bark  and  spread  it  out  in  the 
sun  a  day  or  two,  and  dry  it  before  you  dig.  Raise  a 
mound  on  the  ground  wherever  you  choose  to  kiln  your 
potatoes,  about  a  foot  high  ;  then  put  down  a  layer 
of  the  thickest  pino-bark  on  the  mound  (perhaps  other 
bark  would  answer),  and  gather  your  potatoes  up  the 
same  evening  of  the  digging,  and  place  them  upon  the 
bark  in  a  sugar-loaf  or  conical  form.  When  completed, 
cover  over  with  dry  pine  bark  compactly  ;  then  upon 
that  put  a  layer  of  wheat  straw,  and  cover  the  whole 
with  earth.  Make  a  square  pen  of  poles  or  rails  around 
the  kiln,  taking  care  to  raise  one  side  higher  than  the 
other  ;  then  put  on  your  roof  of  boards,  so  that  it  will 
not  leak.  Before  the  winter  sets  in  (but  not  very  soon 
after  the  kiln  has  been  made),  uncover  and  fill  tightly 
with  leaves  ;  then  cover  again  and  open  in  April  follow- 
ing, and  set  out  your  hot-bed  with  the  most  perfect  and 
sound  tubers  of  medium  size.  It  is  not  necessary  to  use 
stake-holes,  to  ventilate,  when  beds  are  made  in  this  way  ; 
there  will  be  enougli  ventilation  if  you  don't  put  the  leaves 
on  too  soon.  This  is.  especially  the  mode  for  keeping 
seed  potatoes.  The  main  crop  can  be  preserved  in  the 
same  way." 

New  Jersey  Seed  Bed. — The  farther  we  go  North 


28  SWEET   POTATO   CULTURE. 

the  greater  the  necessity  for  especial  care  and  attention  to 
preserve  the  Sweet  Potato  crop  from  decay,  and  tliis  is 
also  true  as  regards  seed-beds. 

Mr.  S.  J.  Allen,  of  New  Jersey,  an  extensive  cultivator, 
in  sandy  soil,  gives  the  following  comprehensive  direc- 
tions, as  practised  by  himself,  which  doubtless  would 
be  etiually  proper  for  the  latitude  of  New  York  and 
further  North  : 

"  The  potatoes  usually  selected  for  seed  are  of  short, 
compact  shape,  rather  below  medium  size,  and  in  this 
latitude  are  '  sprouted '  in  hot-beds,  and  the  sprouts, 
when  well-rooted,  set  in  the  field.  A  mild  hot-bed 
should  be  made  for  them  about  the  10th  of  April.  Tlie 
bed  should  run  east  and  west.  Dig  a  trench  twelve  or 
fifteen  inches  deep,  six  feet  wide,  and  of  any  desired 
length.  A  bed  one  hundred  feet  long  is  large  enough  for 
about  thirty-five  bushels  of  seed,  which  should  yield  at 
first  pulliijg  sixty  thousand  plants,  and  ten  days'  later 
tliirty  thousand  more.  Board  up  the  south  side  of  the 
trench  about  eighteen  inches  high  ;  the  other  three  feet. 
Manure  for  the  hot-bed  should  be  thrown  into  a  compact 
heap  ten  days  before  needed,  being  turned  over  once  or 
twice  in  the  interval,  to  insure  an  even  commencement  of 
lieating,  and  it  should  be  of  such  a  character  as  to  be 
sure  to  heat,  but  not  too  violently.  A  good  proportion 
is,  two-thirds  good  fresh  horse,  and  one-third  cow-stable 
manure.  It  should  be  placed  evenly  in  the  bed  to  the 
depth  of  t\\»elve  or  fourteen  inches,  upon  a  layer  of  two 
inches  of  coarser  manure,  and  be  neatly  levelled  with 
a  fork,  and  finished  by  pressing  down  with  a  wide 
board  or  door ;  it  must  be  covered  with  three  inches  of 
sandy  soil,  upon  which  the  seed  potatoes  are  to  be  placed 
evenly,  about  half  an  inch  apart,  and  settled  to  one-half 
their  thickness  ;  then  sprinkle  with  water,  and  cover 
with  three  inches  more  of  sand.  The  whole  must  then 
be  covered  with  a  coating  of  coarse  hay,  two  feet  deep,  or 


PKOPAGATION    OF   THE    SWEET   POTATO.  29 

sufficient  to  protect  the  bed  from  any  change  of  temper- 
ature, and  boards  must  be  provided  to  keep  off  rain,  sup- 
ported by  temporary  rafters,  whicli  are  taken  off  out  of 
the  way  in  good  weather  ;  on  these  rafters  the  boards, 
a  foot  wide,  are  laid,  beginning  at  the  bottom  and 
overlapping. 

"  Careful  watching  is  necessary  for  the  first  ten  days. 
Examine  thoroughly  all  parts  of  the  bed  every  day  or 
two,  by  thrusting  the  finger  into  the  sand,  between  the 
potatoes,  below  their  level.  It  should  feel  decidedly 
warm,  and  as  long  as  an  even  warmth  at  this  point  can 
be  maintanied  the  first  ten  days,  the  bed  needs  no  farther 
attention.  But  it  almost  always  happens  that,  in  three 
or  four  days,  some  parts  will  become  too  hot,  and  others 
too  cold.  The  warmer  places  must  be  thinly  covered 
during  the  night ;  the  cooler  should  have  all  the  hot  mid- 
day sun  possible,  and  be  covered  up  warm,  and  every 
effort  made  to  increase  the  heat.  In  cases  of  extreme 
heat,  water  thoroughly,  and  with  a  crow-bar  (or  sharp 
stake),  work  a  double  row  of  three-inch  holes,  one  foot 
apart,  along  the  center  of  the  bed,  through  the  manure. 
This  will  have  the  desired  effect  in  a  few  hours. 

"About  ten  days  after  'putting  out,'  the  bed  should 
show  the  white  crowns  of  the  plants  pushing  vigorously 
through  all  parts  of  the  surface,  and  will  thenceforth 
need  uncovering,  during  all  good  days,  from  nine  to  four 
o'clock,  increasing  the  length  of  time,  and  decreasing  the 
covering  as  the  plants  strengthen,  until  just  before  setting- 
out  time,  when  they  should  be  left  uncovered  at  niglit 
also,  to  '  harden.'  The  bed  will  need  frequent  watering, 
which  is  done  with  the  least  risk  about  two  P.  M. 

"All  this  care  is  requisite,  and,  though  troublesome 
to  the  inexperienced,  it  resolves  itself  into  a  plain, 
straightforward  duty  with  practice,  tliough  it  may  re- 
sult in  partial  faihire  from  the  slightest  cause." 

it  seems  to  us  that  the  essential  points,  or  even  the  full 


30  SWEET  POTATO   CULTURE. 

instructions  of  Mr.  Allen,  although  on  a  large  scale, 
could  be  carried  out  with  but  little  expense  or  risk.  In 
Virginia  we  should  expect  thousands  and  thousands  of 
plants  with  half  the  trouble. 

From  the  records  of  a  Farmer's  Club,  in  Middle 
Georgia,  we  gather  the  following  excellent  directions  for 
l)ropagating  the  Sweet  Pptato  : 

"  Selection  of  Seed.  — First.  Always  select  the  largest 
and  best  potatoes  for  seed.  It  is  a  great  mistake  to  se- 
lect small  potatoes  to  bed,  expecting  to  raise  large  ones. 
In  corn,  in  cotton,  in  small  grain,  all  farmers  save  the 
best  for  seed,  and  potatoes  form  no  exception.  With 
them,  as  with  all  other  crops,  the  best  results  are  ob- 
tained from  the  best  seed,  other  things  being  equal. 

"  Second.  For  your  bed,  select  a  good,  warm,  rich  spot. 
Take  a  spade  and  cut  out  a  place,  or  trench,  say  from 
fifteen  to  eighteen  inches  deep,  and  three  feet  wide.  Fill 
this  with  good  stable  manure,  which  should  be  saturated 
with  water  (but  not  too  much),  after  putting  it  in  the 
trench.  Cover  this  with  about  two  inches  of  pulverized 
soil,  and  upon  this  spread  the  potatoes,  just  thick  enough 
to  prevent  them  from  touching  each  other  ;  cover  them 
from  one-half  to  one  inch  thick  with  broom  straw,  to 
prevent  the  potatoes  from  drawing  out  with  the  slips, 
and,  upon  the  straw,  place  a  layer  of  soil  from  two  and 
a  half  to  three  inches  deep.  If  the  weather  is  cold, 
make  the  soil  deeper,  and  scrape  it  off  when  it  moderates. 

"  Third.  To  prepare  the  land  for  planting,  run  off  your 
rows  from  three  and  a  half  to  four  feet  apart,  with  a 
medium-sized  sliovel-i)low,  and  in  the  bottom  of  this  fur- 
row deposit  what  manure  you  intend  to  use.  On  the 
sliovel-furrow  throw  a  list  with  a  common  one-horse 
turning-plow,  running  on  both  sides  of  the  furrow. 
Leave  the  land  in  this  condition  until  you  have  your 
slips  drawn  and  ready  to  set  out,  then  complete  the  bed 


PEEPAKATION   OF  THE   SOIL.  31 

by  throwing  up  two  more  turning-plow  furrows  ;  open 
this  with  a  narrow  ripper,  and  set  your  slips  from  eigh- 
teen to  twenty  inches  apart." 


CHAPTER    VIII. 
PREPARATION    OF    THE    SOIL. 

Success  with  the  Sweet  Potato,  as  with  all  other  root 
crops,  depends  not  only  on  proper  soil,  but  mainly  on 
its  preparal^ion  and  the  after  culture.  Light,  sandy, 
or  slaty  soils,  if  these  are  well  drained,  naturally  or  arti- 
ficially, need  not  be  very  deeply  stirred ;  but  other  or 
heavy  soils  should  be  broken  deeply.  This,  in  such 
soils,  not  only  aids  in  drainage,  but  also  in  warmth,  the 
two  most  important  requisites  with  the  Sweet  Potato. 
These  soils  sliould  be  fallowed  in  the  fall,  and  they  should 
be  replowed  in  the  spring.  All  soils  should  be  well  har- 
rowed and  pulverized  just  previous  to  ridging  or  laying 
off  for  planting. 

Mr.  William  F.  Massey,  a  most  valuable  correspondent 
of  the  "American  Farmer"  (Baltimore),  says  :  *'In  pre- 
paring for  the  Sweet  Potato  crop,  select  a  piece  of  light 
soil  that  has  been  in  a  hoed  crop  the  previous  season ; 
plow  it  not  deeper  than  three  inches ;  harrow  and  roll, 
and,  with  the  plow,  throw  the  soil  into  shallow  ridges 
three  feet  apart.  Flatten  the  tops  of  the  ridges  with  a 
light  hand-roller,  and  set  the  plants  a  foot  apart  (most 
planters  set  from  fourteen  to  eighteen  inches  apart). 
The  s^^bsequent  cultivation  consists  of  one  '  bar-plowing ' 
and  twice  ridging  with  the  plow." 

For  a  more  Northern  latitude,  including  New  Jersey, 
the  following  are  the  preparatory  steps  for  planting  :    In 


32  SAVEET   POTATO   CULTURE. 

tlicse  latitudes  the  plants  should  be  ready  to  set  at  any 
time  from  the  middle  of  May  to  the  first  of  June,  the 
earlier  the  better,  if  the  soil  is  in  proper  condition  as  to 
warmth  and  moisture.  The  plants  are  generally  set 
eighteen  inches  apart,  or  less  ;  this  is  most  conveniently 
done  with  a  small,  light  hoe  in  the  shape  of  a  grubbing- 
hoe ;  blade  six  inches  in  length  by  about  three  in  width, 
and  handle  one  foot  long.  This  hoe  is  in  shape  similai 
to  a  carpenter's  foot-adze,  and  with  it  the  holes  or  places 
for  the  plants  are  made  with  great  facility.  They  also 
have  a  new  planting  machine,  now  coming  into  use,  Avhich 
we  are  not  prepared  to  describe. 

In  planting,  the  dry  tops  of  the  ridges  are  removed 
with  a  light  scraper,  drawn  by  a  horse  or  man,  wide 
enough  to  do  two  rows  at  once,  but  only  as  fast  as  needed 
by  the  workmen.  Some  attach  a  rolling  marker,  which 
facilitates  the  work  very  much.  With  this  the  ridges 
should  be  cut  off  or  levelled  to  the  width  of 
eight  or  ten  inches.  This  also  destroys  the  first 
incipient  crop  of  weeds,  which  is  very  important, 
and  leaves  the  moist  earth  in  good  condition  for  setting 
the  plants.  In  this  way  the  work  is  well  done  and 
with  great  rapidity. 

Instead  of  ridges,  it  is  the  practice  of  some  farmers 
further  South,  if  the  soil  is  sandy  or  light,  after  the 
land  is  well  prepared,  to  lay  off  the  rows  about  three  or 
three  and  a  half  feet  apart  each  way,  with  a  single-horse 
turn-plow ;  then  throw  up  a  furrow  each  side  of  these 
rows  each  way,  as  in  hilling  for  tobacco  ;  it  is  then  light 
work  to  form  good-sized  hills  with  the  weeding-hoe.  If 
the  soil  is  not  rich  or  suitable,  they  run  a  furrow  each 
way,  as  above,  and  at  the  intersection  of  the  rows  a  good 
shovelful  of  suitable  manure  is  put  in  the  places.  The 
manure  used  may  be  fine  wood-earth,  mixed  with  ashes  ; 
or,  if  this  cannot  be  had,  any  rich  soil,  well-mixed  with 
fine  stable  manure,  will  answer.     The  manure  being  in 


DRAWING   THE   PLANTS  AND   PLANTING.  33 

place,  the  loose  soil  around  is  pulled  up  with  weeding- 
hoes,  so  as  to  form  a  good  medium-sized  hill  on  the  ma- 
nure. When  ready  to  plant,  the  tops  of  these  hills  are 
cut  off  with  a  weeding-hoe,  and  the  plants  set  in  the  cen- 
ter of  the  flattened  tops.  This  mode  recpiires  less  labor, 
and  some  farmers  think  produces  larger  crops.  When 
the  planting  is  done  in  this  way,  the  after  cultivation  is, 
much  less  difficult,  as  the  young  weeds  can  be  kept  down 
with  comparative  ease  with  the  plow  and  hoe,  and  with 
much  less  hand-weeding,  and  thpve  is  a  great  saving  of 
manure. 


CHAPTER   IX. 
DRAWING   THE    PLANTS   AND    PLANTING. 

How  TO  Draw  the  Sets.— When  the  plants  are 
about  three  or  four  inclies  high,  and  the  weather  warm, 
the  first  sets  can  be  drawn  carefully,  one  at  a  time, 
with  the  right  hand,  the  left  holding  the  ground  firmly 
to  prevent  the  potato  from  being  drawn  out.  In  five 
weeks  from  the  time  of  putting  down  the  beds,  the 
planting  should  commence,  in  order  to  allow  room  for 
the  second  and  third  growth  of  sjirouts,  planting  after 
each  shower  during  the  month  of  May  to  the  middle  of 
June  and  on  the  northern  slope  of  land,  to  the  first  of 
July.  This  applies  to  Hanover  County,  Va.,  and  to  thf 
upper  counties. 

Preparing  the  Sets. — Although  plants  do  well  with- 
out any  preparation,  yet  it  adds  much  to  their  vigor  and 
healthy  growth  to  treat  them  as  follows  :  Dip  them  in  a 
thick  paste  of  fresh  cow-stable  manure  and  fine  mould 
mixed  with  water;  then  dioble  the  plants  fifteen  inches 


34  SWEET   POTATO   CULTURE. 

ai)iirt  in  the  rklgc,  and  as  deep  as  possible,  so  as  not  to 
cover  the  bud.  ''Draws"  or  "sets,"  Avhen  six  inches 
higli,  are  of  about  the  right  size  to  plant. 

Some  planters  say  the  hand  is  much  better  than  any- 
thing else  to  set  with,  and  by  this  means  the  setting  is 
more  expeditiously  done  by  boys  of  from  twelve  to  six- 
teen years  than  by  grown  persons,  as  they  are  more  sup- 
ple and  have  less  bending  of  the  back.  Some  use  the 
short-handled  hoe  already  described ;  others  use  the 
transplauting-trowel  for  making  the  holes  or  places  for 
the  sets.  In  planting  when  the  weather  is  dry,  as  we 
sometimes  are  compelled  to  do,  the  hills  for  the  plants 
should  be  watered  with  about  a  i)int  or  a  little  less  for 
each  hole.  When  tlie  water  has  subsided,  the  plants  are 
set,  and  the  soil  firmly  pressed  around  each  one.  The 
next  evening  the  same  cpiantity  of  water  should  be 
poured  in  a  circle  around  tlie  plant.  Thus  treated,  it  is 
rarely  that  any  will  be  lost.  It  is  a  good  rule  never  to 
list  or  prepare  more  rows  or  hills  than  can  be  set  in  one 
day,  as  the  plants  live  better  in  fresh  soil. 

Planting  Sets.—''  Just  as  early  as  the  plants 
can  be  safely  risked  in  the  open  field,  say  the  last  of 
April  (in  the  climate  of  Nansemond,  Va.,  to  the  middle 
of  May),  draw  the  plants  from  the  bed,  and  set  them  on 
the  fresh,  newly-prej)ared  ridges  or  hills.  If,  when  ready 
to  plant,  showery  weather  comes  on,  we  avail  ourselves 
of  it,  and  at  once  set  the  plants.  If  we  are  ready,  and 
do  not  desire  to  defer  the  setting,  we  draw  the  plants, 
sot  the  roots,  as  drawn,  in  boxes  containmg  mud  of  the 
consistence  of  cream  ;  take  them  to  the  field  and  plant 
late  in  the  evening,  firming  the  earth  with  the  hand  ])y 
pressing  it  around  each  plant  as  it  is  set.  Well-grown 
plants  possess  so  many  fibrous  roots  and  live  so  easily 
in  freshly-moved  soil,  that  they  often  seem  to  do  better 
in  this  wa^  than  when  set  8-fter  very  hard  rains,  wb^p 


IMPLEMENTS    USED   IN   SWEET   POTATO    CULTURE.      35 

tlie  soil  was  ioo  wet  ;  in  sucli  condition  it  will  bake  liar.l 
around  the  plants.  In  general,  women  or  boys  droji  the 
sets  at  the  proper  distance  (say  fifteen  or  eighteen  inches 
apart),  each  followed   by  the  hand   who  plants. 


CHAPTER    X. 
IMPLEMENTS   USED    IN   SWEET    POTATO    CULTURE. 

The  tools  required  in  the  production  of  the  Sweet 
Potato  crop  are  very  few  and  inexpensive.  The  usual 
farm  tools,  such  as  plows,  harrows,  spades,  shovels, 
weeding-hoes,  rakes,  etc.,  are  used  for  this  purpose. 
Thomas'  Smoothing  Harrow  is  recommended  m  the  early 
stages  of  cultivation.  For  setting  the  plants  the  Jer- 
sey growers  are  very  expert.  With  a  pair  of  wooden 
tongs,  made  of  laths,  they  pick  up  the  plant,  insert  it, 
and  with  a  gentle  tap  the  plant  is  set  without  the  fa- 
tigue of  stooping. 

Mr.  Allen,  of  New  Jersey,  uses  a  light  Scraper  and 
Marker,  drawn  by  one  horse,  which  not  only  levels  and 
brushes  off  the  top  of  the  ridges,  but  effectually  destroys 
the  first  crop  of  weeds,  and  leaves  the  tops  of  the  ridges 
just  right  for  planting — and  the  work  is  done  with  great 
rapidity. 

Another  device  for  this  purpose,  described  on  another 
page,  is  still  more  simple  and  inexpensive.  It  consists 
of  a  piece  of  scantling,  two  by  three  inches,  and  six  feet 
long,  drawn  by  a  horse  walking  between  two  rows.  The 
marking  off  is  expeditiously  done  by  a  boy  with  a  forked 
stick,  with  the  points  fifteen  to  eighteen  inches  apart,  or 
the  desired  distance  apart  on 'the  ridges  may  be  guessed 
fit  by  a  good  dropper. 


36  SWEET   POTATO   CULTURE. 

The  short-handled  hoe,  for  opening  holes  for  the  sets, 
IS  a  great  convenience.  It  is  in  the  shaj^e  of  a  grubbing 
hoe  or  carpenter's  adze.  The  blade  is  six  inche?  long 
(very  light)  by  three  inches  wide,  and  the  handle  tAvelve 
inches  long.  If  the  soil  is  sandy  or  light,  the  hand  will 
answer  this  purpose  as  well.  To  turn  the  vines  a  stick 
about  five  feet  long,  with  a  hook,  is  used,  to  save  tlie 
labor  of  stooping.  With  this  the  vines  are  easily  pulled 
to  one  side  or  from  one  valley  to  the  other,  without 
bruising. 

In  harvesting,  the  vines  are  turned  aside  with  the  plow, 
then  cut  from  the  ridges  or  hills  with  a  sharp  weedmg- 
hoe.  Baskets  or  hampers  of  white-oak  splits  or  willow  are 
provided  for  use  in  harvesting. 


CHAPTER    XI. 
CULTIVATION. 

The  much-lamented  Dr.  G.  W.  Briggs,  of  Nansemond 
Co.,  Va.,  late  associate  editor  of  the  "Petersburg  Rural 
Messenger,"  gave  some  valuable  directions  in  regard  to  the 
Sweet  Potato.  In  one  of  his  articles  on  cultivation,  we 
find  the  following  excellent  remarks  : 

He  says,  incidentally  :  *'  The  methods  and  preparations 
for  planting  are  various.  In  this  section,  ridges  or  hills 
over  the  manure  are  preferred  (except  when  the  manure  is 
broadcast),"  as  he  described  in  a  former  article.  "  In  many 
parts  of  our  own  and  other  States,  where  farmers  plant  only 
for  family  use,  I  have  often  seen  high  ridges  thrown  up 
with  the  plow,  and  then  th?  earth  carefully  pulled  up 
with  the  weeding-hoe,  and  the  sets  planted  on  the  ridge. 
This  we  regard  as  labor  lost,  and  positively  injurious  to 


CULTIVATION,  3? 

the  development  of  short,  thick,  marketable  roots.  The 
ridge  is  but  a  convenience  for  working  the  crop,*  and 
when  we  lay  it  by,  there  are  very  slight  elevations,  in 
fact,  only  fresh  earth  enough  to  well  sustain  the  crown 
of  the  plants, 

"In  cultivation,  we  deem  it  important  to  get  a  good 
stand  as  early  as  possible  ;  hence,  in  a  few  days  after 
planting,  we  go  over  the  field  and  replant  all  that  have 
failed  ;  next  we  hand  or  hoe- work  around  the  sets, 
loosening  the  earth,  to  set  them  growing. 

"  We  will  suppose  that  the  plants  are  well -rooted,  grow- 
ing, and  the  grass  is  sj^rhiging  up  around  and  between 
the  sets  ;  the  sooner  we  work  now,  the  less  will  be  the 
labor  required. 

"  With  a  one-horse  plow,  the  plants  are  sided  off  close, 
and  the  grass  removed  with  the  hand  and  weeding-hoe  ; 
others  prefer  flat-weeding  the  ridges  without  plowing, 
scraping  down  the  ridges  with  the  hoe.  Sometimes  I 
have  saved  labor  by  using  the  Dixon  cotton-sweep,  held 
slanting,  so  as  to  shave  off  the  grass  into  the  balk,  leav- 
ing a  very  narrow  strip  on  the  ridge  for  the  hoe.  The 
crop  should  be  cleaned  and  worked,  and  the  best  method 
of  doing  it  will  suggest  itself  to  the  farmer  on  inspecting 
the  land.  In  two  weeks,  more  or  less,  the  crop  will 
again  re(iuire  working  witli  hoes  and  plows,  and  the  balks 
should  be  thoroughly  worked,  so  as  to  destroy  the  grass. 

"At  the  last  working,  the  vines  have  giown  so  much 
that  we  turn  them  into  the  opposite  rows,  work  thorough- 
ly every  other  row  with  the  cotton-plow,  and  then  turn 

*  Note. — In  regard  to  "  high  or  low  ridges,"  there  is  difference  of 
opinion.  We  think,  in  soils  that  are  rather  moist,  and  consequently 
cold,  and  in  soils  further  North,  considerable  ridges  are  best ;  as,  by  this 
means,  both  warmth  and  dryness  are,  in  a  great  degree,  secured, 
which,  in  our  opinion,  are  imiiortant  factors,  if  not  essential  to  success- 
ful culture.  In  the  hot  sandy  soils  of  Nansemond  low  ridges  might 
do  best. 


38  SWEET   POTATO    CULTURE. 

back,  working  the  rows  in  whicli  the  vines  were  first 
phiced.  To  turn  the  vines,  our  men  use  a  stick  about 
five  feet  long,  with  a  hook,  to  save  the  hibor  of  stooping ; 
with  this  they  pull  the  vines  easily,  without  bruising 
them,  from  one  valley,  or  balk,  to  the  other."  (A  light, 
four-tined,  pronged  hoe,  used  as  a  rake  for  destroying  in- 
cipient weeds,  is  also  used  for  this  purpose). 

"In  a  very  short  time,  the  vines  run  from  one  ridge 
or  hill  to  the  other,  and  cover  the  whole  surface,  and  the 
land  will,  or  ought  to,  be  nearly  level  as  soon  as  the  loose 
earth  settles.  The  potato  roots  ought  to  be  so  near  the 
top  soil  that,  in  August,  when  we  walk  over  the  patch  or 
field,  the  ground  can  be  seen  cracking,  where  tlie  roots 
are  forming  around  the  stem  of  the  mother  j^lant. 

"  My  impression  is  that  too  deep  covering  of  soil  will 
injure  the  development  and  size  of  the  roots ;  and  fail- 
ure is  often  attributed  to  soil  when,  in  truth,  it  is  due 
to  improper  management  and  cultivation. 

"It  frequently  happens,  in  cloudy  and  rainy  seasons, 
that  the  vines  root  of  their  own  accord  in  the  balks, 
forming  little  clips,  so  that  many  persons  go  over  the 
ground  and  break  their  connection  with  the  soil." 

New  Jersey  Culture. — The  cultivation  should  com- 
mence just  before  the  weeds  make  their  appearance.  For 
this  purpose  some  recommend  a  one-horse  Thomas' 
Smoothing  Harrow,  "  a  round  "  to  a  row  ;  sometimes  it 
is  best  to  remove  one  tooth,  to  allow  the  remainder  to 
straddle  the  row  at  that  point.  This  is  Mr.  Allen's  mode. 
He  recommends  for  the  next  working  the  use  of  a  broarl- 
toothed  cultivator,  and  the  next  also,  and  a  careful  hoe- 
ing between  these  two  operations.  Soon  after  the  last 
working,  if  the  growth  of  the  vines  is  rampant,  it  will 
be  necessary  to  turn  the  vines  out  of  the  way,  as  prac- 
tised by  Dr.  Briggs,  working  every  other  balk,  and  turn- 
ing back  and  finishing.     ("Balks,  or  middles,  are  the 


CULTIVATION.  39 

spaces  left  unplowed  after  throwing  one  furrow  to  each 
row.") 

When  the  vines  begin  to  meet  and  occupy  the  middles, 
they  are  about  ready  for  the  last  working.  For  this 
purpose,  they  are  to  be  pulled  out  of  the  way  to  one  side, 
throwing  the  vines  of  two  rows  together.  The  rows  are 
then  plowed  out,  or  from,  and  scraped,  to  destroy  the 
weeds,  with  the  weeding-hoe.  Then  plowed  to,  and  the 
middle  parts  plowed  out.  All  this  should  be  done  in 
proper  time  ;  if  delayed,  it  will  soon  require  much  irksome 
labor  to  put  the  crop  in  good  condition  for  growth. 

Georgia  Culture. — The  ground  being  well  prepared, 
run  off  your  rows  three  and  a  half  or  four  feet  apart, 
with  a  shovel-plow,  and,  in  the  bottom  of  this  furrow, 
deposit  whatever  manure  you  intend  to  use,  unless  the 
soil  IS  sufficiently  rich.  Then,  on  the  shovel-furrow, 
throw  a  list  with  a  common  one-horse  turn-plow,  running 
on  both  sides  of  the  furrow.  Leave  the  land  in  this  con- 
dition until  you  are  ready  to  plant  ;  then  complete  the 
bed  or  ridge,  by  throwing  up  two  more  turning-plow  fur- 
rows ;  open  this  with  a  light,  narrow  ripper,  and  set  slips 
eighteen  to  twenty  inches  apart. 

Four  or  five  days  after  transplanting,  work  the  plants 
with  a  weeding-hoe,  giving  them  a  little  loose  soil,  jit  the 
same  time  open  the  middles  with  one  furrow  of  a  shovel- 
plow.  This  is  the  first  working.  The  second,  side  the  beds 
with  a  shovel,  and  open  the  middles  with  a  turn-plow, 
brushing  around  the  vines  with  a  weeding-hoe,  to  keep  the 
earth  off  of  them.  The  third  and  last  working  is  per- 
formed by  plowing  out  the  middles  with  a  sweep,  and 
hoeing  the  bed  or  ridge,  pulling  the  earth  to  the  vines,  but 
not  covering  them,  as  this  will  cause  them  to  take  root 
and  make  a  late  crop  of  fibrous  roots  tliat  are  worthless, 
besides  the  loss  of  nutriment  they  draw  from  the  larger 
tubers.     Of  course,  no  potato  gathered  before  it  is  ripe 


40  SWEET    .'OTArO   CULTURE. 

can  be  kept  sound.     They  sliould  be  dug  after  the  frost 
has  partially  killed  the  vines. 

Another  Mode. — Another  Georgia  farmer  gives  his 
mode  of  cultivation  and  preparation  of  the  ground,  in 
the  subjoined  report  of  a  cro])  which  he  entered  for  a 
premium  at  the  Georgia  State  Fair  : 

"  Broke  the  land  in  March,  with  a  one-horse  turn-plow, 
six  inches  deep.  Ran  off  the  rows  three  feet  apart,  on 
the  1st  of  May,  with  a  turning-shoveU  Bedded  with  the 
same  plow  the  other  way,  making  the  rows  three  feet 
apart.  Made  small  hills  with  a  hoe,  by  drawing  up  the 
soil  lightly  from  the  corners  of  the  beds  or  squares  be- 
tween the  furrows.  Opened  the  tops  of  the  hills  with  the 
hoe ;  put  crushed  cotton  seed  in  each  hill,  at  the  rate  of 
fifteen  bushels  to  the  acre,  and  covered  the  seed  with 
earth.  (Think  the  cotton  seed  did  but  little  good,  if  any. ) 
Bedded  out  my  Sweet  Potatoes  first  day  of  April.  Trans- 
planted my  slips  from  the  middle  of  May  to  the  first  of 
June.  Plowed  twice  with  sweep,  two  furrows  to  each 
row,  and  hoed  once.  Went  over  the  patch  (one  acre)  in 
Auo'ust  with  a  narrow  hoe,  and  broke  the  vines  loose 
from  the  ground,  where  they  had  taken  root  between  the 
hills.  Dug  the  patch  October  15th.  Yield  two  hun- 
dred and  fifty-four  bushels  and  thirty  pounds.* 

Mr^  0.  M.  CuUen,  of  Hanover,  Va.,  (in  "Richmond 
Planter  and  Farmer"),  says  in  regard  to  cultivation: 
"The  ridges  are  thrown  up  from  three  to  three  and  a 
half  feet  apart,  and  just  before  planting  the  ridge  is 
raked  down  with  a  hoe  or  rake,  or,  better  still,  by  the 
scantling  implement,  a  piece  of  scantling  two  by  throe 
inches,  and  six  feet  long,  drawn  by  a  horse  walking  be- 

*NoTE. — E.  p.  Meredith,  Esq.,  of  Hanover  County,  Va.,  says  :  "  The 
full  productive  capacity  of  our  lands  have  never  been  reached,  produc- 
ing, in  some  cases,  as  much  as  three  hundred  bushels  per  acre  of  po' 
tatoes." 


CULTIVATION".  41 

tween  two  rows.  The  marking  off  may  be  done  by  a 
boy  with  a  forked  stick,  the  points  twenty  inches  apart ; 
or  the  distance  may  be  guessed  by  a  good  dropper,  as 
heretofore  directed. 

"  The  cultivation  should  be  done  with  a  good  cultiva- 
tor— hoe  work  ;  and  at  the  last  working  the  vines  are 
thrown  over  on  each  side  alternately.  If  there  is  no 
disease  or  insects,  the  plants  grow  off  at  once.  If  the 
cut- worm,  or  any  other  insect  is  present,  replanting  is 
necessary.  If  the  "  black-root "  is  perceptible,  the  sprodts 
should  not  be  planted.  Sometimes  there  is  no  appear- 
ance of  this  disease  in  the  beds,  but  it  becomes  apparent 
in  the  field  ;  some  persons  ascribe  the  disease  to  over- 
heat in  the  bed,  others  to  damp,  cold  weather,  but  there 
is  nothing  definite  known  about  the  cause. 

"  The  potato  generally  grows  about  one  inch  in  diam- 
eter a  month,  and  sometimes  the  larger  ones  are  dug  by  the 
first  of  September,  to  obtain  higher  prices.  The  yams  grow 
faster,  but  do  not  sell  as  well  by  thirty  per  cent.  In  this 
region,  from  the  16th  to  the  2Gth  of  October,  the  bulk 
of  the  potato  crop  is  dug,  and  averages,  according  to 
fertility  of  soil  and  the  proper  cultivation,  from  seventy- 
five  to  one  hundred  and  fifty  bushels  to  the  acre." 

Extermination  of  Weeds. — Weeds  are  a  great  pest 
in  all  branches  of  liorticulture.  The  best  way  to  manage 
them  is  to  give  the  crops  timely  and  frequent  cultiva- 
tion. A  single  stroke  with  a  steel  garden-rake  will  kill 
thousands  as  they  begin  to  show  themselves  above  ground 
in  the  truck  patch  ;  or,  in  field  culture,  a  single  passage 
of  a  light,  close-set  harrow,  sweeping  beside  the  plants, 
will  effectually  kill  or  suppress  their  rampant  growth, 
and  put  a  stop  to  their  exhaustive  demands  on  the  soil 
intended  for  other  uses.  But  let  them  get  a  start,  and 
to  head  them  or  behead  them  will  require  more  scraping, 
pulling,  and  hoeing  than  any  gardener  can  afford  to  give 
iu  a  busy  season. 


42  SWEET   POTATO   CULTURE. 

It  is  often  hard  to  beat  tliis  truth  into  the  heads  of 
hiborers.  Incipient  weeds  can  be  ke])t  under  with  one- 
fourth  the  hibor  that  will  be  required  if  allowed  to  at- 
tain the  bight  of  a  few  inches.  Large  beds  can  be 
raked  out  in  a  few  minutes,  Avhich,  if  neglected,  would 
require  hours,  to  say  nothing  of  the  damage  and  set-back 
sustained  by  the  cultivated  crop. 
/  Sweet  Potato  crops  are  especially  liable  to  damage  from 
weeds.  When  neglected,  weeds  soon  get  the  advantage, 
and  double  the  labor  is  required  to  suppress  the.n.  They 
spring  up  close  around  the  plant,  and  hand-weeding  is 
the  only  remedy. 


CHAPTER    XII. 
HARVESTING    THE    SWEET    POTATO. 

How  TO  Dig. — With  the  two-horse  plow  ;  pass  be- 
tween the  rows  to  collect  the  vines  ;  with  a  sharp  weed- 
ing-hoe  (ground  for  this  purpose),  cut  the  vines  from  the 
ridges  or  hills,  and  have  them  carried  out  of  the  way  ; 
then  side  down  and  put  in  the  plow  deep,  and  turn  them 
all  out.  The  potatoes  will  come  up  in  bunches  or 
clusters,  and  with  the  bottom  ends  projecting  out  of  the 
furrow-slice.  They  are,  with  the  plow,  saved  in  half  the 
time,  and  with  scarcely  any  of  them  cut  or  broken. 
With  a  pronged  hoe  or  potato-hook  they  are  quickly 
taken  out  of  the  loose  ground  and  placed  in  the  heapnig 
row.  Tlie  soil  is  then  rubbed  or  shaken  from  the  ])ota- 
toes,  and  they  are  deposited  in  white  oak-split  or  willow 
baskets  or  hampers,  and  removed  from  the  field.  The 
sorting  is  generally  done  in  the  field,  making  three  lots 
— market  roots,  cut  and  broken  roots,  and  small  roots 
or  slips. 


HARVESTING   THE  SWEET  POTATO.  43 

Condition  for  Housing. — Few  crops  are  more  sus- 
ceptible to  injury  by  cold  and  frost  than  the  Sweet  Po- 
tato. Careless  farmers  often  allow  the  crop  to  remain  in 
the  ground  in  the  fall,  until  the  frosfc  has  killed  the 
vines.  AVhen  such  is  the  case,  many  potatoes  will  be 
found  with  frosted  ends ;  such  will  be  bitter  when 
cooked,  and  will  decay  easily.  Some  of  our  experienced 
growers  say  that  to  keep  well,  the  roots  should  be  harvested 
while  growing,  before  the  frost  touches  the  vines.  If 
nearly  matured,  doubtless  this  would  be  right.  Warmth — 
say  seventy  degrees — darkness  and  dryness,  are  conditions 
we  must  look  for,  with  an  equitable  temperature.  Pleasant 
dry  days  in  October  are  preferred  for  i^utting  the  potatoes 
into  the  house  or  kiln. 

The  proper  condition  of  the  potatoes,  as  to  dryness  or 
moisture,  is  very  important,  and  an  unsettled  point.  It 
is  the  custom,  when  they  are  for  early  market  or  for 
early  family  use,  to  dry  them  in  the  sun  on  sheds  or 
other  convenient  places.  For  market,  before  storing, 
it  is  the  practice  of  some  experienced  growers  to  dry 
them  in  the  shade  a  few  days  before  they  are  put  away. 
Others  equally  capable  of  judging  say:  "Directly  the 
digging  and  sorting  is  over,  which  sliould  bo  in  dry 
weather,  take  them  up  in  hampers  and  house  them  in 
bulk,  whilst  they  are  plump  and  fresh."  If  they  are 
put  away  in  sand  or  dry  earth  in  this  condition,  and 
properly  protected  from  cold,  doubtless  it  is  the  best 
mode  for  their  preservation.  Potatoes  put  away  in  this 
order  have  been  known  to  keep  until  the  middle  of  May 
— and,  when  the  sand  was  taken  out  in  October  to  refill 
with  another  crop,  potatoes  were  found  that  had  been 
there  a  year,  and  as  sound  as  those  dug  on  that  day. 
Their  preservation  or  decay,  doubtless,  depends  mainly 
on  the  temperature  and  the  exclusion  of  the  atmosjjhere 
and  light. 

Yield  and  Profit. — A  correspondent  of  the  ''Amer- 


44  SWEET   POTATO   CULTURE. 

ican  Farmer  "  writes  :  "So  many  factors  enter  here  in 
refeiencG  to  the  land  and  its  adaptation  to  the  crop,  and 
the  time  of  the  harvest  and  supply  in  the  market,  that 
it  is  almost  impossible  even  to  approximate  results.  The 
potato  is  edible  as  soon  as  it  has  any  considerable  size, 
and  will  continue  to  grow  until  frost,  often  a  month  or 
six  weeks  longer  than  it  is  permitted  to  do  when  sold  in 
August  as  an  early  market  crop. 

"A  grower  remarked  to  me,  some  time  since,  that 
when  he  could  harvest  twenty-five  barrals  per  acre  in  Au- 
gust, and  get  three  dollars  per  barrel,  he  was  satisfied  it 
paid  him  well. 

"Such  a  crop  would  yield  more  than  forty  barrels  per 
acre  in  October.  The  profit  will  depend,  like  other 
crops,  on  tlie  yield  per  acre  and  market  price  ;  in  gener- 
al, it  is  always  well  worth  the  labor,  and  a  good  rent  of 
land  for  home  consumption  and  home  markets  ;  by  the 
latter,  I  refer  to  Virginia  towns — Lynchburg,  Danville, 
Charlottesville,  Staunton,  and  other  interior  towns 
through  which  there  is  railroad  transportation  from  the 
lower  counties  " 


CHAPTER    XIII. 

TRANSPORTATION  AND  MARKETING. 

The  facilities  for  the  transportation  and  disjiosal  of 
the  Sweet  Potato  crop  arc  not  less  ample  than  those  foi 
other  crops.  The  seaboard  counties,  all  along  the  South- 
ern coast,  in  many  places  have  rivers,  creeks,  small  bays, 
and  inlets,  that  admit  sloops  and  small  trading  vessels 
almost  to  tlie  very  doors  of  the  truckers  and  farmers. 
This  is  especially  the  case  as  regards  tlie  Chesapeake  Bay 
and  other  expanded  waters,  and  also  the  numerous  riv« 


TRANSPORTATION    AND   MARKETING.  45 

ers,  both  large  and  small,  suitaljle  for  coasting  vessels. 
These  tidewater  farmers,  or  truckers,  plant  and  raise 
largely,  not  only  Sweet  Potatoes,  but  other  vegetables  and 
also  fruits,  in  great  abundance,  for  which  then-  climate 
and  soil  are  so  well  adapted ;  these  are  shipped  to  north- 
ern markets,  with  moderate  or  reduced  freight  expenses 
and  commissions,  or  they  are  sold  upon  the  spot.  The 
county  of  Nansemond,  Va.,  has  a  light  and  friable 
soil,  abounding  in  the  richest  and  most  accessible  de- 
posits of  shell  and  marl,  with  water  navigation  which 
gives  every  man  a  wharf  and  a  market  on  his  own  farm  ; 
yet  these  lands,  with  all  these  advantages,  and  after 
they  have  been  well-limed,  can  frequently  be  bo.ight  at 
low  prices,  and,  in  many  instances,  with  good  buildings. 
Nothing  can  be  finer  than  the  water  prospect  from  some 
of  the  old  settlements  on  the  Nansemond  river.  A  broad 
sheet  of  water  at  one's  feet,  gradually  expands  into  the 
■  magnificent  Hampton  Roads  of  historic  fame,  whilst,  as 
far  as  the  eye  can  reach,  the  trading  craft  may  be  seen 
looking  for  truck  in  the  Nansemond  and  neighboring 
creeks.  So  accessible  are  these  situations,  that  the 
northern  hucksters  float  their  warehouses,  in  the  shape 
of  sloops  and  schooners,  to  the  point  of  production,  and 
hang  out  their  signs  from  the  mast-head  :  *'  Potatoes 
"Wanted;"  "Peaches  Wanted  ;"  "The  Highest  Prices 
Given  for  Watermelons,  Fruits,  Vegetables,  etc."  Such 
are  the  cries  of  Nansemond. 

But  the  tidewater  sections  of  Virginia  are  not  the  only 
accessible  points  that  abound  with  the  delightful  pros- 
pect of  oysters,  crabs,  and  Sweet  Potatoes.  Like  advan- 
tages are  to  be  found  on  the  coast  as  far  as  New  Jersey, 
and  South  to  the  capes  of  Florida.  All  up  the  Lower 
Mississippi  and  the  Ohio  Valleys,  the  potato  is  grown  to 
perfection,  and  shipped  to  market  by  means  of  river  and 
railroad  transpoxtation,  with  the  other  products  of  the 
country. 


46  SWEET    POTATO   CULTURE. 

Packing. — Sweet  Potatoes  arc  generally  shipped  iu 
tliree-bushcl  barrels,  usually  flour  barrels.  The  i)otatoes 
are  rubbed,  but  not  bruised,  to  remove  the  sand  or  dirt. 
They  are  then  packed  in  the  barrels,  and  the  open  end 
secured  by  tacking  over  it  a  coarse  cloth,  instead  of 
putting  in  the  head,  just  as  grapes  are  sent  in  casks  to 
the  wine  cellars. 

Product  per  Acre. — The  usual  product  per  acre  is 
l)ut  at  from  twenty-five  to  forty-five  barrels,  according  to 
culture,  soil  and  climate.  Forty  barrels  is  not  unusual. 
"A  friend  of  ours,  last  season,  sold  nearly  one  thousand 
one  hundred  barrels  from  ten  acres.  The  ground  Avas 
heavily  manured  with  stable  manure,  composted  with 
wood-mould  and  ashes." 


CHAPTER    XIV. 

STORING    AND    KEEPING. 

How  TO  Keep  Sweet  Potatoes. — James  R.  Wilson^ 
of  Bolivar  County,  Miss.,  writes:  "At  the  South, 
where  a  dry,  well-constructed  cellar  is  rarely  seen,  Sweet 
Potatoes  are  frefpiently  stored  for  keeping  in  the  follow- 
ing manner  :  A  flue,  say  eight  feet  high,  is  built  of  lat- 
tice, upon  ground  slightly  elevated,  where  water  cannot 
settle,  and  around  this  flue  forty  or  fifty  bushels  of  pota- 
toes are  piled  in  a  conical  heap  or  shape.  Over  these  a 
covering  of  three  or  four  inches  of  straw  is  spread,  and 
over  the  straw,  earth.  This  last  covering  is  graduated 
to  suit  the  weather ;  at  first  it  is  light,  and  then  deeper, 
as  the  temperature  falls.  Rough  sheds  are  erected  over 
Qach  heap,  and  in  cold  weather  the  top  of  the  flue  is 


STORING    AND    KEEPING.  47 

covered  with  straw.  The  potatoes  are  dried,  after  digging 
and  before  stoi-ing,  by  exposure  to  the  air  (not  to  tlie 
sun)  a  few  hours.  No  potatoes  that  are  bruised  or  cut 
are  put  in  the  heap.  It  is  cpiite  probable  this  mode 
would  not  j)rove  successful  at  the  North,  but  I  give  it  for 
what  it  is  worth  to  southern  readers." 

Doubtless  Mr.  Wilson's  mode  would  prove  successful 
in  the  South,  or  in  all  jiotauo  regions  south  of  him.  The 
plan  is  very  sinqile  and  cheaj). 

A  first-class  Sweet  Potato  house  in  New  Jersey  is  now 
built  of  stone,  one-half  under  and  one-half  above 
ground,  though  banked  to  the  eaves,  with  an  entry 
through  the  center,  in  which  the  stove  is  placed.  The 
bins  are  from  six  to  eight  feet  scjuare,  and  eight  to  twelve 
deep.  The  house  is  sixteen  by  eighteen  feet  inside,  with 
walls  ten  feet  high,  five  feet  of  which  are  above  the  levtd 
of  the  ground,  but  banked  to  the  eaves.  There  is  a  glass 
door  on  the  south,  with  a  window  above.  This  house 
holds  three  thousand  bushels  ;  when  full,  three  thousand 
five  hundred  bushels.  It  is  plastered  from  the  wall  up  to 
the  peak,  with  lathing  on  the  under  side  of  the  rafters. 

The  main  crop  is  usually  dug  after  a  very  slight  frost 
has  touched  the  vines — cutting  them  off  the  vines,  plow- 
ing out,  and  "shaking  off"  three  rows  together.  For 
market,  the  potatoes  are  then  "  rubbed  off,"  and  put  up 
in  baskets,  in  two  sizes.  For  winter  sales  they  are  picked 
without  rubbing  off,  and  poured  into  large  bins  in  a 
house  or  cellar,  with  a  constant  fire,  especially  during 
the  sweating  period.  The  best  temi^erature  is  about 
sixty  degrees. 

Other  Ways  of  Keeping. — ''I  have  noticed  for  the 
last  few  years  various  plans  for  preventing  Sweet  Potatoes 
from  rotting  after  being  gathered  and  banked  and 
housed.  It  was  my  father's  plan  to  wait  until  the  frost 
bad  partially  killed  the  vines,  and  dig  on  a  good,  open 


48  SWEET    POTATO    CULTURE. 

day,  throwing  in  hciips,  after  dividing  the  large  from  the 
small — turning  all  about — then  to  liaul  up  to  a  place 
rather  sloping,  and  the  earth  dug  out  to  a  hard  founda- 
tion ;  the  potatoes  were  put  on  the  ground  and  covered 
with  corn-stalks  long  enough  to  go  from  the  bottom  of  the 
trench  to  the  top  of  the  bank,  with  small  ones  to  fill  up 
the  cracks,  so  that  you  could  not  see  the  potatoes  at  all ; 
they  then  commenced  at  the  bottom  to  cover  with  earth, 
so  there  would  be  a  good  thickness  of  it  all  the  w^ay  up 
(using  no  straw  or  bark),  leaving  the  top  open,  and  put  a 
good  shelter  over  it,  to  cover  the  entire  bank,  I  never 
knew  of  any  potatoes  to  be  lost  under  any  circum- 
stances, managed  as  above.  Now,  let  all  make  a  trial 
of  this  plan,  and  see  for  themselves  if  it  is  not  a  good 
one." — McDufSe,  in  "Southern  Cultivator." 

A  correspondent  of  the  "North  Carolina  Farmer  "  gives 
his  mode  :  "  The  first  thing  to  be  done  in  order  to  raise 
good  i)otatoes,  as  in  all  other  crops,  is  to  drain  the  land 
thoroughly.  The  better  the  land  is  drained  the  better 
the  potatoes  will  be  to  eat,  the  better  they  will  yield, 
and  the  better  they  will  keep.  The  great  secret,  or  luck, 
as  it  is  often  termed,  in  keeping  potatoes,  is  in  having 
the  land  on  which  they  are  raised  dry — made  so  by  drain- 
ing whenever  it  is  necessary.  If  they  are  raised  on  such 
land,  there  is  no  difficulty  in  keeping  them.  There  are 
three  things  to  be  observed,  viz.  :  Neither  to  let  them 
get  too  hot,  or  too  cold,  or  too  wet.  To  keep  them  from 
getting  too  cold,  if  put  up  m  hills  for  keeping,  protect 
them  by  putting  plenty  of  earth  around  them,  except  at 
the  top  of  the  hill  (where  a  vent  is  left  until  danger  of 
getting  too  cold,  when  it  should  be  closed),  but  con-, 
sidcrable  cold  may  occur  before  this  would  become  neces- 
sary ;  then  cover  well  with  straw  or  leaves,  or.  in  other 
words,  keep  all  parts  of  the  hill  or  mound,  from  top  to 
bottom,  well  covered  to  keep  out  the  cold,  with  the  hole 
uncovered  in  mild  weather  to  let  out  the  heat.     Many  a 


STORING    AND    KEEPING.  49 

hill  of  potatoes  heats  from  liaving  too  much  strain  on 
the  top,  and  many  a  hill  freezes  from  not  having  earth 
enougli  around  the  bottom.  The  opening  of  the  top  of 
the  hill  should  always  be  left  uncovered  until  the  pota- 
toes are  thoroughly  cured,  whether  kept  in  houses  or  out 
of  doors." 

Wintering  in  Sussex  County,  Va. — They  dig  pits 
underneath  their  top-fodder  stacks,  which  are  in  the 
shape  of  an  A,  or  a  housetop  with  a  square  roof.  These 
pits  are  from  one  and  a  half  to  two  feet  deep,  and  as 
wide  as  the  stack  will  admit — the  length  from  fork  to 
fork  that  supports  the  top  pole  of  the  stack.  Before 
storing  the  potatoes  away,  they  have  the  sides  and  ends 
of  the  pits  well  planked  up,  and  the  bottoms  covered 
about  two  inches  thick  with  pine  beard  (pine  tags). 
They  also  have  a  layer  of  pine  beard  up  the  sides  and 
ends,  about  the  same  thickness  as  that  which  covers  the 
bottom.  This  layer  is  i^laced  along  as  the  potatoes  are 
packed  away,  the  pits  being  nearly  filled  with  potatoes. 
They  are  then  covered  over  lightly  with  pine  beard, 
and  the  covering  finished  with  poles  and  earth  which  is 
to  be  thrown  on  last,  lightly,  taking  care  to  stop  the 
apertures  between  the  poles,  so  that  no  earth  can  pass 
through.  In  this  way  hundreds  of  bushels  in  pits  are 
kept  without  the  loss  of  five.  Care  should  be  taken  be- 
fore storing  away  potatoes  for  winter  markets  or  home 
use,  to  have  them  carefully  picked  over,  and  all  such  as 
are  cut,  broken,  or  bruised,  thrown  out ;  to  avoid  bruis- 
ing potatoes  much,  they  should  be  handled  carefully  and 
lightly.  With  a  view  to  keep  potatoes  in  this  way,  stacks 
may  be  made  up  on  elevated  places,  so  that  the  water 
may  pass  ofE  without  soaking  into  the  ground — thereby 
the  pits  are  kept  perfectly  dry,  which  is  all-important. 

Out  of  a  large  quantity  of  potatoes  kept  in  this  way, 
there  was  not  a  half  bushel  injured. 
3 


50  SWEET   I'OTATO    CULTUllE. 

We  know  that  these  tubers  can  be  kept  in  excellent 
condition  until  late  in  the  spring,  by  the  means  above 
recommended,  but  fodder-stacks  are  now  seldom  made  so 
as  to  admit  a  potato  i)it,  as  it  is  the  custom  to  cut  up 
corn  with  stalk  and  fodder,  and  have  a  solid  stack.  But 
shelters  and  pits  could  bo  chcajily  made  in  the  same  shape 
as  an  old-fashioned  fodder-stack,  that  would  answer  the 
same  purpose. 


CHAPTER    XV. 
DISEASES    AND    ENEMIES    OF    THE    SWEET   POTATO. 

The  most  formidable  enemy  to  the  young  plants  in  the 
hot-bed,  appearing  later  in  the  field  soon  after  trans- 
planting, is  the  "black  root,"  "black  rot,"  or  "black 
shank,"  familiar  to  grow-ers.  It  is  a  kind  of  blight  or 
gangrene  of  the  roots,  and  tlie  general  impression  is  that 
it  proceeds  from  over-stimulation  by  heat  and  ammonia, 
from  the  material  used  in  the  bed  ;  it  sometimes,  although 
rarely,  appears  in  the  plants  raised  under  sash  in  cold 
frames.  Soon  after  setting  the  plants,  we  find  they  do 
not  grow,  leaves  look  yellow,  spotted  and  sickly  ;  pulling 
up  the  set,  we  find  the  cause  in  the  black  stems  undei' 
the  earth,  in  which  there  is  very  little  life  and  circula- 
tion. The  remec'-;  is  of  course  prevention,  and  a  care- 
ful rejection  of  all  plants  affected  with  black  spots  on 
the  stems  when  drawn  from  the  propagating  beds. 
When  the  plants  are  healthy,  setting  over  heating 
manure,  may  cause  it,  or  cold,  unfavorable  weather  su- 
pervening soon  after  they  are  set,  so  that  plants  can- 
not grow,  is  supposed  to  be  another  cause  of  this  disease. 


DISEASES  AND    ENEMIES   OF  THE  SWEET  POTATO.        51 

Others  describe  the  "black  rot"  as  the  rotting  off 
of  the  sprouts  from  the  potato  in  the  beds,  or  showing  an 
occasional  sprout  with  black  spots  on  the  otherwise  white 
stem  and  roots.  It  is  regarded  as  a  capricious  disease, 
depending  u])on  the  weather  and  other  causes. 

Ants  often  undermine  plants  in  the  ridges  or  hills, 
and  do  some  mischief,  as  do  cut- worms.  The  remedy  is 
frequent  hoeing.  The  striped-bug  is  sometimes  trouble- 
some. This  is  easily  managed  by  sowing  air-slacked 
lime  on  the  vines.  There  are  also  small,  whitish-yellow, 
mealy  insects  called  '^  peddlers,"  that  feed  on  the  leaves, 
they  work  entirely  upon  the  under  side  of  the  leaves, 
and  seldom  do  much  harm.  Dusting  with  Paris  green 
when  the  leaves  are  Avet  or  damp,  it  is  supposed,  would 
put  them  to  rout. 

Just  here  the  Sweet  Potato  has  the  advantage  of  most 
other  plants,  and,  especially  of  the  common  or  Irish  po- 
tato. In  fact,  it  has  two  advantages  over  that  tuber.  It 
is  seldom  molested  by  bugs  or  worms,  and  it  will  grow 
and  thrive  in  warm,  dry  soils,  where  tlie  common  potato 
would  wither  and  perish  for  want  of  coolness  and  mois- 
ture. 

No  insect,  so  far,  has  troubled  the  Sweet  Potato  to 
damage  it  to  any  extent.  If  the  bugs  continue  to  de- 
stroy the  common  potato,  as  in  years  past,  we  will  have 
to  turn  our  attention  more  to  the  growing  of  the  Sweet 
Potato  to  fill  its  place.  [While  V^irginia  is  fortunate  in 
being  free  from  the  insects  that  injure  the  Sweet  Potato 
vine,  farther  West,  especially  in  Missouri,  they  are  at- 
tacked by  several  species  of  Tortoise  Beetles,  mostly  of 
the  genus  Cassida.  The  larva  is  armed  with  numerous 
spines,  and  has  the  unpleasant  habit  of  covering  its  back 
with  a  shield  of  its  own  excrement.  The  perfect  insects, 
which  also  feed  on  the  vines,  have  the  wing  covers  and 
thorax  so  extended  as  to  give  them  a  strong  resemblance 
to  a  miniature  tortoise ;  some  of  them  are  exceedingly 


52  SWEET   rOTATO    CULTURE. 

beautiful,  with  golden  and  other  metallic  tints.  They 
will  be  found  figured  in  Prof.  C.  V.  Kiley's  Second  lie- 
port  on  the  Insects  Injurious  to  Missouri  (18G9).  As  the 
insects  are  mainly  upon  tlie  under-sides  of  the  leaves,  the 
application  of  poison  to  destroy  them  is  ditticult.  Ex- 
amining the  plants  while  young  and  picking  off  all  the 
insects  that  may  be  found,  is  recommended  as  the  better 
remedy. — Ed.] 


CHAPTER  XVI. 
USEFUL  TABLES,   ETC. 

Weight  of  Agricultural  Products. — Weight  of  a 
bushel  as  established  by  tlie  laws  of  the  United  States  : 

lbs.  lbs. 

Sweet  Potatoes 55        Castor  Beans 46 

Irish  Potatoes-  - 60        Dried  Peaches 33 

White  Beans 60        Dried  Apples 26 

Peas 60        Onions 57 

Turnips-. 55        Onion  Sets „..  35 

Ground  Beans 24 

CAPACITY  OF   BOXES. 

A  box  20  inches  square  and  IG'/j  inches  deep  will  con 
tain  1  barrel  (3  bushels). 

A  box  15  inches  srpiare  and  14'/.^  inches  decji  will  con- 
tain 1  half  barrel. 

A  box  17  inches  by  14  inches  and  9  inches  deep  will 
contain  1  bushel. 

A  box  10  inches  by  12  and  9  inches  deep  will  contain 
one-half  bushel. 

A  box  8  inches  square  and  S"/^  inches  deep  will  contain 
1  peck. 


USEFUL  TABLES,    ETC.  53 

KUMBER   OF   PLANTS   FOR  ONE  ACRE, 

Sweet  Potatoes-.-  lV,footby    3  feet 9,600 

...  ly^footby    ay,  feet 8,100 

Strawberries 1      foot  by    3  feet 14, 530 

Raspberries 6      feet  by    6  feet 1,210 

Dwarf  Pears 13      feet  by  12  feet 302 

Quinces -15      feet  by  15  feet 193 

Number  of  Square  Feet  in  an  Acre,  43,590;  70 
yards  wide  by  G9  long,  one  acre. 

Standard  Fruit  Measures. — We  have  long  needed 
standard  measures  for  selling  fruits  and  vegetables.  A 
*' basket"  has  never  meant  anythnig  positive,  and  the 
artful  way  in  which  baskets  have  been  filled  by  raismg 
the  bottoms,  etc.,  has  been  a  source  of  much  fraud  to 
buyers.  The  Fruit  Packers'  Board  of  Trade,  at  Balti- 
more, Md.,  the  members  of  which  purchase  large  quan- 
tities of  peaches  and  tomatoes,  recently  adopted  a  stan- 
dard measure,  as  follows  : 

*'  That  the  standard  bushel  for  peaches  shall  be  a  box  9 
inches  deep,  14  inches  wide,  and  22'/,  inches  long,  in  the 
clear,  with  half-mch  partition  ;  that  the  standard  half 
bushel  for  tomatoes  shall  be  a  basket  10  inches  deep, 
lOV,  inches  across  the  bottom,  and  15  inches  across  the 
top ;  and  that  the  barrel  for  measuring  peas  shall  hold 
not  less  than  2'/,  standard  bushels. 

*  An  ordinary  bushel  box  for  apples,  etc.,  is  15'/.^  inches 
long,  inside,  14  inches  wide,  and  12  inches  deep  in  the 
clear.  The  ends  may  be  of  y,-inch  boards  ;  bottom  slats 
same  ;  side  and  top  slats  1 '/,  inch  wide  by  '/.^  inch  thick, 
allowing  spaces  between  of  one  inch,  more  or  less,  accord- 
ing to  the  description  of  the  fruit  to  be  shipped.  The 
boards  should  be  of  light  material— white  pme  or  poplar." 

Potato  Barrels.— The  Norfolk  dealers  in  Sweet  Pota- 
toes ship  in  flour  barrels,  with  a  coarse,  strong  cloth 
tacked  over  in  place  of  the  head.  This  gives  ventilation 
and  is  sufficiently  secure. 


54  SWEET   POTATO    CULTURE. 

Tape  Lines. — Every  gardener  or  farmer  slionld  pro- 
vide himself  with  a  tape-line,  so  that  he  may  know  the 
size  of  his  patches,  lots,  and  fields,  how  much  seed  they 
need,  what  they  yield,  etc.  A  measure  always  at  hand 
and  properly  used,  will  be  to  him  as  im2)ortant  as  is  a 
compass  to  the  mariner. 

Measuring  Poles. — The  farmer  should  always  keep  a 
pocket  rule,  a  yard-stick,  and  poles  of  G  feet,  10  feet,  and 
one  of  IG'/^  feet,  or  one  rod  ;  the  last  to  be  made  of  any 
light  wood,  graduated  or  tapered  each  way  from  the  cen- 
ter to  the  ends,  with  marks  for  each  foot  of  length. 


CHAPTER   XVII. 
CONCLUSION. 

In  conclusion  we  would  remind  farmers  and  planters 
that  the  8weet  Potato  can  endure  more  heat  and  drouth 
than  any  other  root  crop.  Turnips,  parsnijis,  carrots, 
beets,  etc.,  succumb  and  wither  at  a  time  when  the  con- 
ditions are  just  right  for  this  crop.  Hence  our  dry  and 
hot  seasons,  which  seem  to  increase  in  their  torrid  char- 
acter, produce  this  splendid  esculent  in  the  highest  perfec- 
tion, and  we  may  rely  upon  this  when  all  other  root  croi)s 
fail.  This  should  induce  all  who  have  the  proper  soil  to 
plant  tiie  Sweet  Potato  freely  for  home  use,  if  not  for 
market. 

The  apparent  obstacle  to  its  culture  is  the  difficulty  in 
the  preservation  of  the  crop  for  winter  use.  This  is 
mostly  due  to  a  want  of  knowledge,  as  the  means  are 
always  at  hand,  in  any  climate,  for  keeping  them  in  ex- 
cellent condition  until  late  the  following  spring. 


CONCLUSION".  55 

The  Sweet  Potato  will  grow,  thrive,  and  mature, 
despite  of  the  driest  and  hottest  weather,  and  there  is 
scarcely  any  other  esculent  that  will  do  this  under  a 
burning  sun  and  torrid  atmosjihere.  In  this  work  we 
have  given  the  various  modes  of  culture,  and  the  most 
approved  methods  for  the  preservation  of  the  tubers, 
as  practised  in  widely  different  sections  from  New  York 
to  Texas.  To  preserve  the  crop,  diiferent  localities  require 
more  or  less  protection,  according  to  climate.  If  due 
attention  is  paid  to  this  there  need  be  no  failure,  and  but 
little  loss  if  each  section  adopts  modes  of  culture  and 
keeping  suitable  to  its  latitude. 

There  can  be  no  doubt  that  a  vast  increase  of  whole- 
some and  nutritious  food  would  be  secured  should  the 
people  within  the  wide  range  in  which  it  may  be  cul- 
tivated be  made  to  see  the  great  value  of  the  Sweet 
Potato  as  an  adjunct  to  the  ordinary  roots  and  cereals  in 
increasing;  the  resources  of  human  food. 


CHAPTER  XVin. 

THE     CHINESE     YAM. 

{Diosfonca  Batatas. ) 

This  esculent,  having  in  its  manner  of  groAvth  and 
uses,  much  in  common  with  the  Sweet  Potato,  may  be 
Avith  propriety  noticed  in  this  work.  It  belongs  to  the 
same  genus,  Diosconea,  with  the  tropical  yams,  which  are 
mucli  used  as  food  in  warm  countries,  their  large  farina- 
ceous roots  serving  as  a  substitute  for  potatoes.  These, 
DiofiCorcBct  ednlis,  D.  alata,  and  some  others  are  natives 
of  the  East  Indies,  but  having  been  early  taken  to  the 
West  Indies  and  other  parts  of  tropical  America,  they  are 
both  cultivated  and  .naturalizod.  Their  roots,  often 
weighing  thirty  to  forty  pounds,  are  much  used  as  food 
in  those  countries,  and  are  occasionally  seen  in  New 
York  and  other  seaports,  where  they  are  esteemed  by 
those  who  have  lived  in  the  countries  where  they  are  in 
use.  The  Chinese  Yam  is  different  from  all  other  species 
of  Dioscorem  with  edible  roots,  in  being  perfectly  hardy 
in  the  Northern  States,  and  it  is  vastly  superior  to  the 
tropical  yams  in  the  edible  quality  of  its  root. 

•  The  Chinese  Yam  is  occasionally  cultivated  in  the 
kitchen  garden  and  truck  patch,  and  is  valued  by  many 
on  account  of  its  purity  of  flavor  and  the  absence  of  any 
after  taste  of  sweetness  or  other  undesirable  quality.  The 
ease  with  which  it  can  be  cultivated  and  tlie  facility  with 
which  it  may  be  preserved  also  commend  it.  This  yam 
was  first  sent  to  France,  by  a  French  consul,  about  the 
year  1S40,  from  China,  where  it  is  in  general  cultivation. 
The  plant  was  soon  after  sent  to  this  country  from  tlie 
Jardin  des  Plantes  at  Paris,  but  it  unfortunately  fell  into 
56 


THE   CHINESE  YAM.  57 

the  hands  of  an  erratic  nurseryman,  who  made  such 
extravagant  claims  as  to  its  productiveness  and  vahie, 
that  those  who  tried  it  were  greatly  disappointed  and 
overlooked  its  real  merits  ;  as  a  consequence,  the  Chinese 
Yam  fell  into  disrepute  and  became  an  object  of  ridicule. 
The  Chinese  Yam  has  a  root  or  tuber  from  eighteen  inches 
to  three  feet  in  length  ;  it  is  club-shaped,  with  the  large 
part  below  ;  the  portion  near  the  surface  of  the  ground  is 
not  larger  tiian  the  little  finger,  while  the  lower  end  is 
two  and  sometimes  three  inches  in  diameter.  The  vine, 
if  furnished  with  a  support,  will  grow  to  the  hight  of 
twelve  or  fifteen  feet,  but  is  much  shorter  when  allowed 
to  run  upon  the  ground.  The  triangularly  heart-shaped 
leaves  are  about  two  inches  long  and  of  a  dark  glossy 
green.  The  flowers  are  very  minute,  in  small  racemes  in 
the  axils  of  the  leaves  ;  they  are  dull  yellow  and  are 
pleasantly  fragrant ;  the  plant  is  dioecious,  only  the  male 
or  staminate  form  having  been  introduced,  it  bears  no 
fruit  or  seeds  in  this  country.  Large  numbers  of  bulb- 
lets  about  the  size  of  a  large  pea  are  produced  in  the 
axils  of  the  leaves  ;  as  these  grow  readily  and  afford  the 
most  common  method  of  proi)agating  the  plant  they  are 
usually  sold  by  seedsmen. 

It  being  very  ornamental  in  Its  character  the  plant  is 
used  to  cover  verandas,  trellises,  etc. ;  on  account  of  the 
fragrance  of  its  flowers  it  is  sometimes  called  and  sold  as 
"The  Cinnamon  Vine." 

As  a  field  or  garden  crop  it  has  never  become  popular, 
mainly  on  account  of  the  difficulty  in  harvesting.  The 
small  end  of  the  tuber  is  exceedingly  brittle,  and  from 
the  fact  that  the  large  end  is  lowest,  it  can  not  be 
pulled,  but  an  excavation  must  be  made  to  the  full  depth 
to  which  it  reaches.  This  difficulty  may  be  obviated  to 
some  extent  by  planting  upon  ridges. 

Some  persons  who  are  exceedingly  fond  of  the  Chinese 
yam,  plant  the  roots  in  some  convenient  spot  and,  as  they 


58  SWEET   POTATO   CULTURE. 

ure  perfectly  liardy,  allow  them  to  take  care  of  them- 
selves, digging  them  us  they  are  needed.  In  cooking 
they  may  be  treated  in  the  same  manner  as  i)otatoes. 
Tlic  bulblets  do  not  produce  a  full-sized  tuber  tho  first 
year  ;  they  may  be  sown  in  a  seed-bed  and  the  small 
tubers  produced  planted  the  next  spring  either  whole  or 
cut  into  two  or  three  jneces,  according  to  their  size. 
When  full-sized  tubers  are  once  obtained,  their  smaller 
ends  are  reserved  for  planting,  using  the  large  portion  for 
the  taljle  ;  these  small  ends  are  cut  into  lengths  of  one- 
and-a-half  to  three  inches,  according  to  their  size,  and 
will  produce  large  tubers  the  first  year.  The  distance 
in  planting  may  be  the  same  as  for  the  Sweet  Potato. 
The  tubers  make  tlieir  greatest  increase  in  size  late  in 
the  season,  and  should  not  ])e  dug  before  frost  has  put 
an  end  to  the  growth  of  the  vines. 


MAKUKING   FOE   SWEET  POTATOES.  59 

CHAPTER    XIX. 
MANURING    FOR   SWEET    FOTATO'E^.— Additional 

The  manures  best  adapted  to  the  wants  of  the  sweet 
potato  are  partially  given  in  Chapter  VI.  of  this  work, 
but  more  special  information  is  required,  which  is  given 
here. 

There  is  nothing  much  superior  to  well-rotted  stable 
manure,  applied  in  hills  or  drills.  The  superphosphates, 
bone  meal,  ammoniated  bone,  woods  earth,  wood  ashes, 
potash,  wood-pile  and  fence-corner  scrapings,  all  give 
satisfactory  results.  Some  cultivators  apply  from  two  to 
four  hundred  pounds  of  ammoniated  superphosphate, 
containing  potash,  per  acre.  Others  use  old,  decomposed, 
home-made  manure,  mixed  with  ashes  and  acid  phos- 
phate, in  the  open  furrows  or  in  the  hills. 

A  correspondent  in  the  "  Southern  Cultivator''  desired 
to  know:  "What  would  be  the  cheapest — good  stable 
manure  that  is  hauled  four  miles,  or  cotton  seed  deliv- 
ered on  the  farm  at  fifteen  cents  per  bushel  ?  The  stable 
manure  costs  twenty-five  cents  per  ton."  To  which 
the  editor  replied  :  "The  stable  manure  is  the  cheap- 
est, if  of  good  quality,  and  more  likely  to  give  satisfac- 
tory results.  Rating  the  labor  at  fifty  cents  a  day,  and 
making  two  trips  a  day,  a  load  or  ton  would  cost  fifty 
cents,  exclusive  of  the  use  of  team  and  wagon.  The  last 
item  IS  a  nominal  one  to  a  farmer,  usually  rated  only  as 
wear  and  tear.  In  this  view  of  the  case,  a  wagon  load  of 
manure  would  cost  only  a  little  more  than  three  bushels 
of  cotton  seed — and,  we  would  add,  if  well  rotted,  the 
stable  manure  would  be  to  the  crop  double  the  value  of 
the  cotton  seed." 

When  sweet  potatoes  are  cultivated  in  new  grounds  of 
moderate  depth  of  soil,  very  little  if  any  fertilizers  are 


60  SWEET   POTATO  CULTURE. 

required  ;  but,  as  a  general  rule  cultivators  find  it  pays 
best  to  give  the  plants  jjrojier  food  and  enough  of  it. 

W.  B.  McDaniel,  of  Georgia,  says  :  "  We  have  used 
Cumberland  superphosphate  at  the  rate  of  two  hundred 
pounds  per  acre,  and  it  doubled  the  yield,  and  made  two 
hundred  bushels  without  other  fertilizers.  We  also  ob- 
tained the  same  gratifying  results  from  a  brand  of  am- 
mouiated  bone." 


CHAPTER    XX. 
PROPAGATING  THE  SWEET  FOTATO.- Additional 

In  Chapter  VII.  of  this  work  full  directions  will  be 
found  for  pre})aring  hot-beds  for  sweet  potatoes,  and  for 
giving  them  a  fair  start. 

How  TO  Transplant  Successfully. — As  further  in- 
formation, we  give  the  different  views  on  this  su])ject. 
Commissioner  Henderson,  of  Georgia,  gives  Georgia 
farmers  some  excellent  advice  on  transplanting.  He 
thinks  if  farmers  would  cease  to  rely  on  the  clouds  for 
the  moisture  necessary  to  ensure  the  life  of  the  trans- 
planted slips,  they  would  find  no  great  difficulty  in  secur- 
ing an  early  stand. 

It  is  advised  that  the  ground  intended  for  potatoes 
should  be  kept  in  good  tilth  by  repeated  plowings,  and 
when  the  slips  are  ready,  set  out  at  once.  It  is  only  nec- 
essary to  have  the  ground  freshly  plowed.  Strike  off  the 
crown  of  the  ridge  with  a  board  or  hoc  ;  set  the  plant  in 
place  and  pour  in  a  gill  or  half  a  pint  of  Avater,  so  as  to 
wash  the  fine  earth  into  the  holes  around  the  roots.  This 
should  be  done  late  in  the  afternoon,  and  the  next  morn- 
ing the  wet  soil  and  the  partly  filled  holes  may  be  j3oy- 
ered  with  fine  soil. 


CULTURE    AND    MAKAGEMENT.  Gl 

If  the  ground  is  not  very  dry  the  plant  may  be  made 
to  live  by  "grouting,"  Avliich  is  simply  dipping  the  roots 
of  the  plants  into  water  in  which  a  quantity  of  woods 
mold,  clay  soil,  or  fine  cow  manure  has  been  stirred,  and 
setting  them  without  the  further  application  of  water. 
By  adopting  some  such  method,  the  plant  beds,  being 
freely  watered  after  each  drawing,  will  produce  more 
abundantly  and  promptly,  and  the  whole  area  intended 
for  the  crop  may  be  set  in  good  time. 

Slips  for  Late  Use  and  for  Seed. — It  is  a  good 
plan,  if  there  be  a  suitable  season  in  the  latter  part  of 
June,  to  cut  slips  from  the  vines  and  set  them  in  well- 
prepared  ridges  or  hills.  These,  if  well  attended  to, 
produce  the  late  crop,  and  they  answer  very  well  for  seed. 
This  applies  to  Virginia  and  further  south,  and  to  vari- 
ous parts  of  the  West.  There  is  economy  in  this  way  of 
adding  to  the  main  crop. 


CHAPTEK    XXI. 

GENERAL  REMARKS  ON  THE  CULTURE  AND  MANAGE- 
MENT OF  THE  SWEET  POTATO. 

The  sweet  potato  is  one  of  the  most  eatable  anu  deli- 
cious of  all  esculents,  and  the  regions  adapted  to  its  cul- 
ture are  quite  extensive.  It  may  be  grown  for  family 
use,  if  not  for  market,  as  far  north  as  Eochester,  New 
York,  and  Lansing,  Michigan,  and  in  all  the  Southern 
and  Southeastern  States. 

Sweet  potatoes  may  be  grown  in  a  variety  of  soils,  but 
that  which  is  dry,  warm  and  sandy  will  give  the  finest 
quality.  If  the  land  lias  a  red  cast,  so  much  the  better, 
think  many  farmers  ;  for  this  imparts  the  bright  color  to 
the  roots  that  gains  the  good  prices  in  market. 


62  SWEET    POTATO    CULTURE. 

Deep  plowing  is  not  rccooimended  for  sweet  potatoes. 
In  deeply  tilled  soil  the  roots  strike  downward,  and  the 
result  is  long,  spindling  potatoes  instead  of  short,  com- 
pact ones.  Wiiile  the  plowing  should  be  shallow  rather 
than  deep,  the  ground  must  be  thoroughly  worked  and 
sufficiently  fertilized.  Well  decomposed  stable  manure 
is  generally  conceded  to  be  the  best  fertilizer  for  this 
crop. 

The  ground  should  be  warm  and  all  danger  from  frost 
past  before  the  plants  are  set  out,  but  it  is  all  the  better 
for  being  prepared  and  marked  off  a  little  in  advance  of 
the  season  for  transplanting.  Growers  in  diffe  ent  sec- 
tions differ  in  their  opinions  as  to  the  merits  of  hill  and 
row  systems  ;  good  results  have  been  gained  from  both, 
and  the  general  impression  appears  to  be  that  larger 
roots  are  obtained  by  the  hill  system,  while  cultivating 
in  ridges  produces  the  greatest  number  of  potatoes. 
Most  cultivators  now  mark  off  the  ground  and  set  the 
plants  with  a  view  to  cultivating  the  crop  by  horse- 
power. If  the  plants  are  to  be  set  in  hills,  three  feet 
apart  each  way  will  be  found  a  convenient  distance  ;  if 
to  be  cultivated  in  ridges,  mark  off  the  ground  with  a 
plow  in  rows  about  four  feet  apart.  The  ridges  are  usu- 
ally made  by  throwing  two  furrows  together  over  the 
manure  that  has  been  spread  in  a  small  furrow  or  mark- 
ing for  the  row  ;  then,  with  a  hand-hoe,  the  ridges  are 
smoothed  and  their  tops  patted  down.  When  the  time 
arrives  for  setting  the  plants,  the  crown  of  the  ridge  is 
pushed  aside,  one  hand  is  thrust  into  the  soil,  while  the 
other  inserts  the  plants  about  sixteen  inches  apart  in  the 
rows.  When  the  hill  system  is  practiced,  the  rows  are 
made  into  small  hills  with  light  hoes ;  the  pointed  tops 
of  these  hills  are  knocked  off  at  the  time  of  ])lanting,  so 
that  the  plants  may  be  set  in  fresh  earth.  Some  of  our 
progressive  farmers  use  long,  slender,  wooden  tongs,  in 
which  the  plant  is  held,  to  be  inserted  in  the  hole  made 


CULTUllE   AND    MANAGEMENT.  63 

with  a  wooden  shovel  in  the  other  hand.  These  imple- 
ments do  away  with  the  back-breaking  business  of  setting 
the  plants  by  hand  in  the  ordinary  way. 

The  ground  should  be  moist  at  the  time  of  planting ; 
therefore,  just  previous  to,  or  after,  a  rain  is  a  favorable 
season.  Growers  generally  agree  that  the  roots  of  the 
plants  ought  to  be  wet ;  some  water  them,  others  prefer 
puddling  or  grouting  the  roots.  From  eight  to  ten 
thousand  plants  are  required  to  set  an  acre.  Row  plant- 
ing requires  a  larger  number  of  plants  than  does  hill 
culture. 

About  ten  days  or  a  fortnight  after  setting  the  plants, 
go  over  the  ground  and  replant  where  for  any  reason  the 
first  setting  has  been  destroyed  ;  cultivate  during  the 
summer  and  keep  the  ground  free  from  weeds.  Northern 
cultivators  find  it  necessary  to  prevent  the  points  of  long 
vines  from  rooting  down,  for  wherever  those  roots  start 
a  large  number  of  potatoes  will  set.  These  (at  the  North) 
not  only  fail  to  gain  a  serviceable  size,  but  they  rob  the 
hills  of  nutriment  and  productive  power. 

There  are  but  few  varieties  of  the  sweet  potato.  Of 
these  the  Yellow  and  Red  Nansemond  are  most  extensively 
grown.  The  "Early  Peabody"  is  favorably  known  to 
some  of  our  Northern  growers.  The  "Early  Golden,"  a 
new  early  sweet  potato,  originated  in  Virginia,  and  a 
sport  of  the  old  "Early  Red,"  is  well  spoken  of  by  culti- 
vators who  have  tried  it.  It  is  claimed  that  it  is  early, 
productive,  and  of  pleasing  quality.  A  well-known  and 
much-cultivated  sweet  potato  at  the  South  is  the  "Yel- 
low Yam  ; "  the  "Pumpkin  Yam  "  is  also  popular,  though 
not  so  sweet  as  the  first  named.  Other  well-known  sorts 
are  "  Hayti  Yam"  or  "  Musgrove  ;"  "Nigger  Killer," 
a  very  prolific  variety  ;  "  Spanish  Potato,"  and  "  Brazil- 
ian Yam."  At  the  South  there  is  no  such  thing  as  buy- 
ing and  selling  potato  plants.  Farmers  with  one  accord 
save  their  own  seed.     When  they  desire  to  plant  slips 


64  SWEET    POTATO   CULTURE. 

each  man  lias  his  own  ])]ant  hed.  Sometimes  the  roots 
are  phintcd  for  an  early  patch  tlie  same  as  are  Irish  ])o- 
tatoes  ;  then  when  the  vines  arc  fairly  started  they  arc 
set  out  for  a  later  crop.  These  vines  doubled  up  and 
stuck  into  the  ground  grow  readily  and  bring,  it  is 
thought  by  many,  equally  good  results  Avith  those  of  seed 
})otatoes  or  slips. 

Mr.  Purdy  says  :  "  Parties  as  far  north  as  Rochester, 
Kew  York,  in  planting  sweet  potatoes,  will  get  much 
the  best  and  surest  crops  by  not  planting  them  on  high 
ridges.  If  so  i)lanted  on  soil  nearly  level,  in  this  section, 
they  grow  short  and  plump,  and  in  a  much  shorter  season 
than  "when  grown  on  high  ridges.  This  practice  came 
from  the  South,  and  more  especially  sections  where  the 
soil  is  light  aiid  thin,  and  the  throwing  up  of  ridges 
essential  to  get  good  crops." 

Flat  Culture. — This  method,  practised  in  sections 
"where  the  growing  season  is  short,  as  recommended  by 
Mr.  Purdy,  may  appear  rather  paradoxical,  but  he  speaks 
from  experience.  The  sweet  potato  delights  in  light, 
warm  and  dry  soils.  Level  cultnre  and  short  seasons  do 
not  seem  favorable  to  these  conditions.  Kidges  and  hills 
are  generally  preferred  in  all  the  Southern  potato  regions. 

Cultivation  of  the  Sweet  Potato. — Although  we 
have  already  given  different  modes  of  cultnre,  yet  differ- 
ence in  latitude  and  seasons  call  for  and  require  a  more  or 
less  varied  treatment.  This  makes  it  proper  that  the 
views  and  experience  of  cultivators  in  different  regions 
should  be  given,  which  should  not  perplex  the  reader,  but 
serve  as  a  further  guide  to  success,  and  aid  in  securing 
the  capabilities  of  his  particular- position  and  clima':e. 

From  the  latter  part  of  May  to  July  first,  in  the  cli- 
mate of  New  York,  the  rooted  sweet  potato  sprouts 
should  be  transplanted  to  the  field  or  garden.  Break  the 
land  thoroughly,  but  not  necessarily  deep ;  low,  level  or 


CULTURE    AND    MANAGEMENT.  G5 

damp  lands  will  not  do  ;  high,  dry,  warm  and  mellow  or 
loamy  soils  are  best,  and  the  fresher  the  better;  new  lauds 
are  always  best.  Lay  off  rows  three  and  a  half  to  four 
feet  apart,  and  if  convenient  have  them  run  north  and 
south.  In  these  furrows  apply  two  to  four  hundred 
pounds  per  acre  of  ammoniated  superphosphate,  contain- 
ing potash.  If  home-made  manure  is  used,  be  sure  that 
it  is  old  and  thoroughly  decomposed,  and  if  possible  mix 
some  wood  ashes  and  acid  phosphate  with  it.  Cover  this 
furrow  by  running  on  each  side  of  it  with  a  one-horse 
turn  plow,  thus  making  a  narrow  ridge,  on  which  plant 
the  slips  eighteen  inches  apart  ;  keep  clear  of  weeds  and 
grass  until  the  vines  begin  to  run  freely  ;  then  hill  up 
and  lay  by.  It  is  better  not  to  permit  the  vines  to  take 
root  between  the  rows,  as  this  will  diminish  the  crop  of 
large  roots,  and  here  they  will  not  get  large  enough  for 
use.  Loosen  up  the  vines  occasionally.  A  prong-hoe  is 
good  for  this  purpose.  Just  before  or  directly  after  frost, 
dig  the  potatoes  and  store  them  away  in  a  dry,  warm 
place  for  Avinter  and  spring  use. 

The  Importance  of  the  Sweet  Potato  as  an  Ad- 
junct TO  Other  Farm  Crops.— The  appreciation  of  the 
value  and  use  of  this  desirable  esculent  seems  to  be  rap- 
idly on  the  increase.  We  predict  for  the  sweet  potato 
much  more  accurate  knowledge  of  its  range,  nature  and 
requisites  in  the  future  than  has  yet  been  attained. 
Doubtless  a  "boom"  in  the  near  future  is  at  hand, 
and  the  sweet  potato  will  be  more  generally  cultivated 
and  appreciated  than  ever  before. 

The  sweet  potato  flourishes  in  light,  sandy  or  loamy 
and  warm  soils,  but  it  may  be  cultivated  with  advantage 
in  almost  any  soil  that  will  produce  fair  crops  of  Indian 
corn,  tobacco  or  cotton  ;  but  if  the  soil  be  ligh*:,  with 
southern  aspect,  so  much  the  better.  It  should  be  planted 
as  early  as  frost  will  permit.  Land  on  which  corn  will 
t)urn  and  dry  up  is  Just  right  for  the  sweet  potato  ;  and 


66  SWEET   POTATO   CULTURE. 

if  the  season  (after  tlicy  have  a  good  start)  be  ever  so  hot 
and  dry,  they  will  continue  to  grow  as  though  it  were  ever 
so  seasonable.  The  main  point  is  to  keep  down  the  weeds 
and  grass.  If  these  get  a  start  much  labor,  especially  in 
hand  weeding,  will  be  necessary,  and  they  are  very  impa- 
tient of  disturbance  in  the  hill  or  ridge,  incident  to  close 
or  careless  weeding. 

When  the  vines  begin  to  run  and  take  root  in  the  balks 
or  along  the  sides  of  the  hills  or  ridges,  they  should  be 
loosened  from  the  soil  with  the  hand  or  a  pronged  weed- 
ing hoe.  This  is  also  necessary  in  cultivation  ;  and  the 
pronged  hoe  is  used  to  pull  them  out  of  the  way  of  the 
plow.  In  harvesting,  a  two-horse  plow  is  used  to  plow 
them  out,  the  vines  being  cut  off  with  a  sharp  weeding 
hoe  or  other  implement.  Then  the  roots  are  easily 
brought  to  the  surface  Avitli  the  pronged  hoe.  Care 
should  be  taken  that  they  are  not  bruised  or  broken. 
They  are  then  carefully  taken  up,  the  soil  shaken  out, 
sorted,  and  placed  in  hampers  or  baskets.  Boxes  are 
best,  as  they  get  bruised  in  baskets.  A  spring  wagon 
takes  them  to  the  place  of  storage  or  to  market. 

The  special  advantage  of  raising  this  crop  is,  that  the 
dry,  hot  seasons  (that  with  us  of  the  South  seem  to  be 
on  the  increase),  are  a  requisite  with  the  sweet  potato. 
The  dryer  the  season  the  larger  and  better  the  potato. 

Let  every  farmer  in  Southern  potato  regions  have  his 
hot-bed  ready  by  the  first  of  April — north  of  Virginia  it 
should  be  later — so  as  to  be  ready  to  plant  by  the  lOth  or 
15th  of  May.  What  better  or  more  desirable  crop  can  he 
raise  for  home  use,  or  even  for  home  or  distant  markets? 

Hanover  Notes  on  Cultivation. — We  introduce 
here  some  excellent  additional  remarks  on  cultivation 
from  the  pen  of  Mr.  J.  W.  Tinsley,  an  experienced  sweet 
potato  raiser  from  that  celebrated  potato  region,  Hanover 
County,  Virginia  : 

**  We  usually  try  to  set  all  we  can  in  the  month  of 


CULTURE   AND    MANAGEMENT.  67 

May.  If  set  out  after  that  time  tlie  crop  is  not  generally 
remunerative.  The  proper  soil  is  a  light,  sandy  one,  or  any 
land  that  is  well  impregnated  with  sand.  Stable  manure 
is  the  best  fertilizer  ;  after  that  cow-pen  manure.  In 
this  section,  mold  from  the  woods  and  pine  tags  are  used 
in  large  quantities,  the  same  land  being  often  put  in  po- 
tatoes. I  never  have  been  able  to  make  good  sweet  pota- 
toes with  guano  or  artificial  fertilizers  alone  ;  but  it  is 
necessary  to  supply  coarse  manure  of  some  kind  to  mix 
with  it.  My  plan  is,  to  drill  in  all  the  stable  and  cow-pen 
manure  I  can  spare  for  my  potatoes,  and  by  that  means 
it  goes  much  farther.  Three  feet  is  the  best  distance  for 
the  rows  to  be  apart,  and  I  am  accustomed  to  list  on  the 
manure  that  I  have  drilled  in  the  rows,  throwing  up  the 
list  as  high  as  I  can  with  a  single  plow,  putting  two  fur- 
rows together.  I  make  it  a  rule  never  to  list  in  a  day 
more  than  I  can  set  that  day,  as  the  plants  live  better  in 
fresh  soil.  The  distance  for  the  plants  in  the  row  is 
twenty  inches,  and  it  is  best  to  set  them  deep  in  the 
ground,  for  if  they  should  be  cut  off  by  cut-worms  or 
anything  else,  they  will  be  more  apt  to  come  out  again, 
and  the  roots  get  more  of  the  moisture.  The  evening  is 
the  best  time  for  setting  out,  after  a  moderate  rain  in 
May  ;  if  the  moisture  is  sufficient  you  can  usually  set  for 
four  or  five  evenings.  In  June  the  sun  is  so  hot  it  is 
very  difficult  to  get  plants  to  live  without  a  good  season. 
In  the  cultivation  of  potatoes  the  secret  of  success  is  never 
to  let  them  get  grassy,  but  work  them  as  soon  as  a  crust 
forms  on  the  ground.  If  they  get  grassy  it  is  impossible 
to  remove  the  grass  without  injuring  the  potato  roots  ; 
and  it  is  easier  to  work  them  three  times  when  there  is 
no  grass  than  once  when  they  are  grassy.  You  must 
always  see  that  the  hoes  do  not  cut  into  the  hill,  but 
merely  scrape  the  ground  around  the  plant,  and  then 
pull  up  a  little  earth  to  it.  Now,  by  my  plan  of  horse 
cultivation  I  save  a  great  deal  of  hoe  work.    First,  throw 


68  SWEET    POTATO    CULTURE. 

out,  in  about  ten  days  after  setting  out  the  plants,  the 
little  balk  that  was  left  in  throwing  up  the  list,  and  try 
to  get  the  earth  as  high  as  you  can  on  the  list,  so  as  to 
smother  out  any  grass  that  might  start  to  grow  on  the 
list  where  the  potato  plant  is.  Now,  before  this  earth 
that  I  have  thrown  up  by  this  plowing  commences  to  put 
up  grass,  I  run  a  cotton  scraper,  wiiich  is  attached  to 
Watts'  A  and  B  plow,  as  close  as  I  can  to  the  potato 
plants,  throwing  earth  to  them  ;  try  to  not  let  it  cut 
more  tlian  half  an  inch  deep.  A  good  plowman  can  run 
the  point  of  the  scrajier  within  less  tlian  an  inch  of  the 
potatoes.  If  the  vines  have  run  any,  of  course  I  have  to 
send  a  man  ahead  to  throw  the  vines  into  every  alternate 
balk,  and  the  scraper  has  to  first  run  all  through  the 
patch  on  one  side  of  the  list  and  then  have  the  vines 
thrown  back  to  that  side  that  has  been  worked  and  run 
on  the  other  side.  The  last  working  with  the  plow  is  to 
throw  all  this  earth  the  scraper  pulled  away  from  the 
list  back  to  it,  moving  the  vines  out  of  the  way  just  as 
was  done  for  the  scraper,  and  throwing  on  one  side  of  the 
list  all  through  the  patch,  and  then  come  back  and  plow 
the  other  side  in  the  same  way,  trying  to  make  this  fresh 
earth  meet  in  the  middle  of  the  list.  Let  your  hands 
come  on  behind  and  see  that  no  vines  are  covered  up,  as 
nothing  lessens  the  size  of  the  potatoes  in  the  ridge  or 
hill  more  than  to  have  the  vines  covered  with  soil." 

The  foregoing  instructions  on  culture,  by  Mr.  Tinsley, 
are  so  well  adapted  to  a  large  portion  of  the  potato  re- 
gions, and  are  so  plain  and  practical,  that  had  we  given 
nothing  further  on  this  subject  cultivators  with  similar 
soils  and  in  similar  sections  could  hardly  err  in  their 
management. 


MISCELLANEOUS   VIEWS   ON   MANAGEMENT.  G9 


CHAPTER    XXII. 

MISCELLANEOUS  VIEWS  ON   THE   MANAGEMENT   OF 
THE  SWEET   POTATO. 

Of  course  on  this  subject,  as  on  the  culture  and  man- 
agement of  corn  and  tobacco,  there  must  be  various  opin- 
ions, doubtless  originating,  in  part,  from  difference  in  soil 
and  climate.  ''We  desire,"  says  the  ''Eural  Messen- 
ger," of  Petersburg,  Virginia,  "  only  to  touch  on  two  or 
three  points  about  which  there  is  some  diversity  of  prac- 
tice, but  points  upon  which  a  very  large  part  of  the  suc- 
cess of  potato  culture  depends. 

"  Setting  Out. — First,  as  to  the  method  of  setting 
out  the  young  plants  or  '  draws.'  Most  farmers  wait  for 
a  shower  to  do  this,  believing  there  is  no  sort  of  show  for 
potatoes  put  out  in  dry  weather.  This  is  a  mistake. 
Besides  losing  time,  which  is  an  important  item  in  this 
crop,  the  'draws'  seldom  grow  off  as  well  after  a  shower, 
especially  if  the  soil  hardens  rapidly,  and  very  often  they 
remain  for  several  days,  sometimes  more  than  a  week,  in 
a  yellow,  sickly  state,  and  perhaps  after  all  many  of  them 
die.  Now,  it  is  always  best  to  plant  everything  in  a 
freshly  stirred  soil.  And  if,  when  the  bed  has  a  goodly 
number  of  'draws'  fit  to  set,  the  ridges  are  thrown  up, 
and  little  holes  made  the  proper  distance  apart  for  setting 
sweet  potatoes  (fifteen  inches),  a  plant  put  in  each  hole, 
and  a  little  water  poured  in  upon  the  roots,  and  after  the 
water  has  all  soaked  into  the  soil  the  dry  earth  is  drawn 
up  to  the  plant,  very  few  of  them  will  die.  In  this  way 
you  plant  in  a  freshly  stirred  soil,  the  ridge  or  hill  is 
moist  all  through  and  loose  and  mellow,  the  pouring  on 
of  the  water  settles  the  roots  into  the  soil  and  gives  the 
plant  moisture  enough  to  start  it  into  growth,  and  the 
drawing  up  of  the  dry  soil  around  the  plant  prevents  the 


yO  SWEET  POTATO   CULTURE. 

part  that  is  wet  from  getting  liard.  If  the  work  is  done 
late  in  the  afternoon,  nearly  every  plant  will  live,  even 
in  the  dryest  weatlier. 

*' About  Seed. — There  has  lately  arisen  some  diifer- 
enco  of  practice.  Instead  of  cutting  vines  and  sticking 
them  out  into  ridges,  in  August,  to  make  small  seed  po- 
tatoes, many  now  select  the  small  roots  from  the  large 
potatoes  at  digging  time  and  use  these  for  seed.  It  is 
noticed,  however,  by  some,  that  the  number  of  beds  that 
fail  to  give  an  early  supply  of  plants  is  increasing.  Hot- 
beds are  made  with  all  due  care,  slips  or  small  potatoes 
are  bedded  now  as  formerly,  and  all  is  done  that  can  be 
thought  of  to  insure  a  full  show  of  early  plants.  But 
very  often  it  is  high  June  before  a  single  drawing  is  se- 
cured. What  is  the  cause  ?  It  must  be  the  seed.  Little 
potatoes  for  the  general  crop  are  not  the  best.  They  are 
dwarfs  and  late.  Young  slips,  fresh  and  vigorous,  are 
the  best.  These  come  from  good-sized  jjotatoes.  Such 
sprout  sooner  in  the  bed  and  send  up  more  of  them.  If 
you  want  early  and  tine  potatoes,  free  from  disease  and 
true  to  kind,  raise  from  potatoes  of  the  vine  you  wish  to 
grow.  Potatoes  will  '  mix  in  the  hill '  if  you  plant  more 
than  one  kind  in  a  patch. 

'*  It  would  seem  but  a  trifling  thing,  but  our  experi- 
ence is,  that  rows  running  north  and  south  yield  better 
than  rows  running  east  and  west.  It  may  be  because  the 
ridges  or  hills  receive  an  equal  amount  of  heat  on  both 
sides.  We  do  not  know.  A  free  exposure  to  sun  and 
air  is  also  essential.  The  potato  will  not  grow  in  the 
shade. 

"Early  Varieties. — As  to  earliness,  we  have  found 
the  '  White  Yam  '  the  earliest,  but  not  the  best.  It  is, 
however,  a  fine  potato,  and  very  prolific.  Some  call  it 
the  •  Harman,'  but  others  claim  that  they 'are  distinct 
varieties.     The  '  lied  Yum '  is,  par  excellence,  the  potato 


MISCELLANEOUS   VIEWS   ON   MANAGEMENT.  71 

in  every  essential  point — earliness,  quality  and  yield  per 
acre.  The  'Yellow  Rind'  is  hardy,  prolific  and  good — 
a  fine  general  utility  potato,  good  for  table,  stock,  or 
market ;  also,  a  good  keeper.  A  large  part  of  every 
farmer's  patch  should  be  of  this  variety. 

"  Should  the  young  plants  look  yellow  and  weakly 
some  time  after  being  set,  a  sprinkling  of  plaster  will  re- 
store them.  But  for  small  patches,  where  you  are  trying 
to  have  a  few  very  early,  the  best  thing  is  liquid  manure 
made  from  stable  or  barn-yard  manure.  This  should  be 
sprinkled  around  the  plants  every  day  or  two,  for  some 
days  after  planting." 

Hakvesting. — The  New  York  ''  Farmer's  World  "  has 
this  to  say  about  sweet  potatoes  :  "There  are  few  crops 
more  susceptible  to  injury  by  cold  and  frost  than  sweet 
potatoes  ;  hence,  sweet  potatoes  must  be  harvested  before 
the  weather  is  sufficiently  cold  to  freeze  the  ground.  In 
a  word,  sweet  potatoes  ought  to  be  lifted  from  the  ground 
as  soon  as  they  are  ripe.  Care  must  be  exercised  not  to 
harvest  them,  however,  until  quite  matured  ;  for  unripe 
roots  will  not  keep.  A  good  test  is  breaking  open  the 
potato  ;  if  ripe  it  maintains  its  light  color  when  broken  ; 
if  still  immature,  it  will  exude  a  gummy  juice  and  turn 
dark  as  it  dries.  There  are  growers  who  do  not  harvest 
their  sweet  potatoes  just  at  the  period  of  mature  growth 
and  before  the  the  frost  has  touched  the  vines,  but  delay 
until  the  vines  are  killed.  This  practice  cannot  be  called 
a  safe  one,  for  while  slight  frosts  do  not,  in  many  cases, 
injure  the  potatoes,  it  frequently  occurs  that  when  they 
are  left  in  the  ground  until  the  vines  are  destroyed  they 
come  out  with  frosted  ends,  and  the  consequence  is  an 
ill-flavored  and  bitter  root  when  cooked. 

"Like  Irish  potatoes,  sweet  potatoes  should  by  all  means 
be  lifted  In  dry  weather.  Sweet  potatoes  may  be  rapidly 
harvested  with  the  plow.     Once  out  of  the  ground,  thej 


72  SWEET   POTATO   Cl'LTURE. 

must  be  tiir-dried  in  the  shade  previous  to  storing  in  Avin- 
ter  quarters. 

*'  Hmall  quantities  in  tliis  localit}-  may  be  kept  for  home 
consumption,  up  to  January  1st,  by  packing  in  boxCs  or 
barrels  in  alternate  layers  of  leaves  or  kiln-dried  sand  or 
any  earth.  Large  growers  at  the  North  build  regular 
l)otato  or  root  houses  for  the  preservation  of  the  sweet 
potato,  with  suitable  arrangements  for  maintaining  the 
proper  degree  of  heat.  In  these  houses  the  potatoes  are 
packed  in  dry  sand  in  bins." 

Sweet  Potato  Plant-Beds. — Mr.  A.  B.  Cook,  of 
Chesterfield  County,  Virginia,  gives  the  following  as  his 
mode  of  making  sweet  potato  hot-beds  :  "  Have  the  pit 
in  a  well-drained  place.  First  place  green  pine  boughs 
or  twigs  and  trample  close  until  about  six  inches  in  depth  ; 
then  thoroughly  wet.  On  this  three  or  four  inches  of 
well-packed  stable  manure.  '  Then  place  three  or  four 
inches  of  good,  rich  soil  and  rake  smooth.'  Bed  the  po- 
totoes,  pressing  or  firming  each  potato  in  the  soil ;  cover 
with  about  three  inches  of  woods  mold  or  fine  sand. 
Eepeated  experiments  on  a  large  scale  have  convinced  me 
that  the  soundness  and  good  size  of  the  seed  potato  is 
the  only  necessary  test." 

Hot-Beds. — Mr.  Luther  H.  Bailey,  Jarratt's  Depot, 
Sussex  County,  Virginia,  gives  his  mode  of  constructing 
hot-beds:  ''The  modus  operandi  in  this  sweet  potato 
country  is  as  follows  :  I  select  a  good,  warm  si)ot  in  my 
garden,  with  southern  exposure;  and  dig  out  a  pit  twelve 
inches  deep,  and  in  length  and  width  according  to  the 
quantity  I  wish  to  bed.  Then  fill  the  pit  nearly  to  the 
top  with  dry  stable  manure  ;  then  throw  on  earth  to  the 
depth  of  six  inches  ;  smooth  this  and  place  on  the  pota- 
toes evenly,  but  do  not  let  them  touch.  Then  cover 
with  earth  about  four  inches  deep.  By  the  first  of  May 
the  sets  will   be  up,  and  some  large  enough  to  draw. 


MISCELLAKEOUS  TIEWS   ON   MANAGEMENT.  73 

Select  a  light  and  not  too  ricli  soil  for  your  patch.  We 
plant  three  and  a  half  feet  apart  and  use  good,  well- 
rotted  stable  manure  in  the  ridges." 

The  Sweet  Potato  as  Food  for  Stock. — A  writer 
from  Monteith,  North  Carolina,  says  :  "  Many  farmers 
fail  to  properly  value  the  sweet  potato  as  a  food  crop. 
It  makes  fine  feed  for  all  kinds  of  stock.  Hogs  improve 
rapidly  upon  them,  and  I  have  found  nothing  to  excel 
them  as  a  food  for  producing  milk  and  butter.  The 
yield  per  acre  is  so  abundant,  it  seems  a  little  strange  that 
more  attention  is  not  given  to  their  culture.  An  average 
crop,  for  my  section  of  the  State,  is  about  three  hundred 
and  fifty  bushels.  Farmers  who  give  good  attention  to 
this  crop  will  greatly  reduce  their  expenses  in  the  way  of 
food." 

Proper  Time  for  Harvesting. — This  is  very  impor- 
tant. J.  V.  Dansby,  of  PensAcola,  Florida,  says  :  "  Pota- 
toes should  be  harvested  as  soon  as  they  are  ripe.  At 
that  time  the  leaves  assume  a  yellow  hue,  and  the  roots, 
after  being  cut  and  exposed  to  the  sun  and  air,  appear 
white  ;  should  there  be  upon  the  cut  surface  a  green 
tinge  the  potato  is  not  ripe.  Do  not  wait  for  a  frost  be- 
fore beginning  to  gather."  Mr.  D.  also  gives  valuable 
instructions  as  to  keejiing  large  quantities.  He  has  them 
to  come  out  "  bright  and  sound  "  late  in  the  spring. 

Cuttings  vs.  Sets  or  Plants. — A  Floyd  County, 
Georgia,  correspondent  of  the  "Southern  Cultivator," 
says  :  "  We  begin  to  set  out  plants  in  May,  and  continue 
until  July,  when  we  substitute  cuttings  from  the  vines. 
These  we  set  through  July,  sometimes  as  late  as  the  10th 
of  August,  as  we  intend  these  to  make  our  seed  potatoes, 
though  we  often  get  many  fine  eating  potatoes  from 
these  cuttings.  In  1882  we  set  out  a  patch  of  little  less 
than  an  acre  of  these  cuttings  on  the  18th  of  July. 
They  were  plowed  and  hoed  once  each,  and  harvested 


74  SWEET    POTATO   CULTURE, 

125  bushels,  more  than  half  of  them  marketable  pota- 
toes. 

*'  Kkeping  Sweet  Potatoes  in  Earth. — I  sec  in  tlie 
March  number  of  *The  Cultivator'  a  premium  offered 
for  the  best  plan  for  preserving  sweet  j^otatoes.  I  do 
not  desire  tlie  premium,  but  will  simply  give  your  read- 
ers my  experience  in  a  few  words. 

"Just  as  soon  as  the  frost  has  touclied  the  vinos  I  go 
to  digging,  and  if  possible  carry  them  to  the  cellar  as 
fast  as  plowed  out,  as  the  cellar  is  the  only  safe  place 
to  keep  them  in  in  this  climate.  When  I  begin  to  pour 
down,  I  also  commence  to  throw  dry  earth  over  them  to 
absorb  the  sweat,  and  continue  this  until  the  potatoes 
are  all  in.  I  put  nothing  else  over  them  until  the 
weather  turns  freezing  cold,  when  I  throw  more  earth 
over  them  until  they  are  covered  up  entirely.  A  few 
inches  of  this  covering  will  suffice.  In  this  condition  I 
let  them  remain  until  spring.  I  have  made  this  a  mat- 
ter of  study,  and  have  decided  that  it  is  the  potato's  na- 
ture to  both  grow  and  remain  in  earth."  The  above  are 
the  views  of  Mr.  D.  D.  Fleming,  of  Sterling,  Alabama. 
In  a  good,  dry  cellar  doubiless  there  could  be  no  better 
plan  than  ''keeping  in  earth."  The  covering,  Ave  think, 
should  be  increased  in  quite  cold  weather.  Mr.  W.  A. 
Sanford,  Beech  Bluff,  Tennessee,  also  uses  dry  earth  in 
a  dry  cellar  :  "I  keep  them  from  one  planting  to  an- 
other.    They  keep  sound  all  the  year." 


THE   HILL  AND   ROW   SYSTEMS.  75 

CHAPTER     XXIII. 
THE  HILL  AND   ROW  SYSTEMS. 

Cultivators  in  different  sections  differ  in  their  opin- 
ions as  to  the  merits  of  the  hill  and  row  systems.  Good 
results  are  obtained  from  both,  and  the  general  impres- 
sion appears  to  be  that  larger  roots  are  obtained  by  the 
hill  system,  while  cultivating  in  ridges  produces  the 
greatest  number  of  potatoes.  Most  cultivators  now-a- 
days  mark  off  the  ground  and  set  the  plants  with  a  view 
to  cultivating  the  crop  by  horse-power.  If  the  plants 
are  to  be  set  in  hills,  three  feet  apart  each  way  will  be 
found  a  convenient  distance;  if  to  be  cultivated  in 
ridges,  mark  off  the  ground  with  the  plow  in  rows 
aboujt  four  feet  apaxt.  The  ridges  are  conveniently 
made  by  throwing  two  furrows  together  over  the  ma- 
nure that  has  been  spread  in  a  furrow  or  marking  for  the 
row  ;  then  with  a  hand  hoe  the  ridges  are  smoothed  and 
their  tops  patted  down.  When  the  time  comes  for  set- 
ting the  plants,  the  dry  tops  of  the  ridges  are  removed 
and  the  plants  sot  from  sixteen  to  eighteen  inches  apart 
in  the  row.  In  large  fields  the  crowns  of  the  ridges  are 
taken  off  with  a  liglit  scraper,  drawn  by  a  horse,  and 
wide  enough  to  do  two  rows  at  a  time. 

When  the  hill  system  is  practised  these  rows  are  usu- 
ally made  into  small  hills  with  light  hoes.  The  points 
of  these  hills  are  knocked  off  at  the  time  of  planting,  so 
that  the  plants  may  be  set  in  fresh,  moist  earth. 

After  the  land  is  well  prepared  it  is  laid  off  into  rows 
about  three  or  three  and  a  half  feet  apart  with  a  single- 
horse  turn-plow ;  then  a  furrow  is  thrown  up  each 
side  of  these  rows  each  way,  as  in  hilling  for  tobacco. 
It  is  now  light  work  to  form  hills  with  the  weeding-hoe. 


7G  SWEET   POTATO   CULTURE. 

If  the  soil  requires  food,  they  run  a  furrow  each  way  as 
above,  and  at  tlie  intersection  of  the  rows  a  sliovelful  of 
manure  is  put  in  the  places.  The  manure  is  sometimes  fine 
woods  earth  mixed  with  ashes,  or,  if  this  cannot  be  had, 
any  rich  soil  well  mixed  with  stable  manure  is  employed. 
The  manure  being  in  place,  the  loose  soil  around  is 
pulled  up  with  the  weeding-hoe,  so  as  to  form  a  hill  on 
tlie  manure.  "When  ready  to  plant,  the  tops  of  these 
hills  are  cut  off  with  a  weeding-hoe,  and  the  plants  are 
set  in  the  center  of  these  flattened  tops.  It  is  claimed 
for  this  mode  that  it  requires  less  labor,  and  some  farm- 
ers think  produces  larger  crops.  The  after  culture,  it  is 
said,  is  also  less  difficult. 

The  ground  should  be  moist  at  the  time  of  planting. 
Therefore,  just  after  a  moderate  rain  is  a  favorable  sea- 
son. The  roots  of  the  plants  at  time  of  setting,  at  all 
events,  must  be  wet.  Therefore,  puddling  should  be  re- 
sorted to  when  planting  time  comes  witiiout  showery 
weather. 


CHAPTER  XXIV. 

THE  VALUE  OF  THE  SWEET  POTATO. 

The  editor  of  the  "  Charleston  News  "  gives  his  estimate 
of  the  sweet  potato  and  his  views  as  to  the  future  of  this 
most  eatable,  delicious  and  valuable  of  all  root  crops  as 
follows.  He  says:  "  We  have  always  been  of  opinion  that 
the  great  value  of  the  sweet  potato  crop  in  the  Southern 
States  and  elsewhere  was  not  duly  appreciated  and  suf- 
ficiently utilized.  Root  crops  are  always  more  prolific 
than  grain  crops.  They  exhaust  the  land  less  and  give 
more  in  return  for  labor  and  manure.  Of  course  they 
arc  not  as  nutritious,  pound  for  pound,  as  grain,  but  iii 


THE    VALUE    OV   THE   SWEET    POTATO.  77 

great  increase  of  material  they  yield  more  nutrition  to 
a  given  quantity  of  land,  than  any  of  the  cereals.  Irish 
potatoes,  turnips,  beets,  carrots,  both  in  Europe  and  in 
our  Northern  States,  are  all  justly  prized  as  the  most 
vahiable  of  farm  crops.  The  sweet  potato  is  superior  to 
them  all  as  food  for  man  and  beast.  It  may  be  used  for 
all  the  purposes  to  which  the  others  are  applied  and  for 
many  others  besides.  In  the  fresh  state,  just  out  of  tho 
ground,  it  makes  an  excellent  substitute  for  arrowroot 
by  grating  the  pulp  into  water  and  allowing  the  starchy 
matter  to  subside. 

"As  a  vegetable  it  is  a  favorite  on  every  table,  cooked 
in  great  variety  of  ways.  As  a  dessert,  it  makes  better 
jiudding  or  pie  than  the  pumpkin.  It  is  good  food  for 
stock  of  all  kinds — horses,  cattle,  sheep  and  hogs.  We 
knew  an  old  planter  once  who  always  raised  an  abund- 
ance of  corn  and  other  provisions  for  his  stock,  but  who 
was  an  enthusiast  over  the  sweet  potato  crop,  estimating 
it  on  the  yield  returned  from  the  labor  bestowed  as  of 
more  value  than  any  other  food  producing  crop. 

"Our  best  Southern  varieties  will  probably  soon  be- 
come a  very  important  article  of  export  to  the  Northern 
States  and  to  Europe.  The  farmers  in  Georgia  are  com- 
plaining that  with  an  immense  crop  of  favorite  '  Yellow 
Yam,'  raised  in  expectation  of  shipment,  there  is  no  de- 
mand in  the  Northern  market  for  the  variety,  the  North- 
ern people  preferring  the  dryer  sorts. 

"We  have  ourselves  been  noticing  this  thing  for  some 
time  with  a  good  deal  of  surprise.  In  the  St.  Louis 
prices  current  sent  us,  the  'Southern  Queen'  ('Pojjlar 
root')  and  'Red  Bermuda'  (' Musgrove '),  two  of  our 
worst  varieties,  are  each  quoted  at  about  double  the 
price  set  upon  the  'Yellow  Yam.'  "  Our  contemporary 
says  it  is  because  they  don't  know  how  to  cook  the  Yam 
up  there,  and  adds:  "A  well-seasoned  'Yam,'  baked 
slowly,  as  it  should  be,  is  really  more  a  fruit  than  a 


78  SWEET    POTATO    CULTURE. 

vegetable.  The  time  will  come  when  they  will  be  pre- 
pared in  this  way,  and,  by  being  put  up  in  sealed  cans 
and  by  other  modes  of  conveyance,  will  become  an  im- 
portant article  of  trade  to  the  North  as  well  as  to  Eu- 
rope." They  are  putting  up  cans  already  in  some  parts 
of  the  country. 


CHAPTEE    XXV. 
HOW  TO  SAVE  SWEET  POTATOES. 

We  gather  the  following  excellent  and  practical  views 
from  the  "  Southern  Cultivator  and  Dixie  Farmer  :  " 

"  The  inquiries  about  saving  sweet  potatoes,  and  the 
many  designs  for  potato-houses,  induce  me  to  give  you  a 
practical,  and,  at  the  same  time,  a  most  economical  i)lan 
for  this  purpose.  The  old-fashioned,  slipshod  way  of 
digging  and  putting  up  potatoes,  so  common  witli  a 
large  class  of  our  planters,  is  a  mockery,  and  especiiilly 
do  we  find  it  so,  for  season  after  season  the  same  hack- 
neyed phrase  greets  us:  'My  potatoes  all  rotted  this 
year.  How  did  yours  keep?'  Yet  the  majority  of 
them  will  try  the  same  plan,  year  after  year,  without  in- 
quiring the  reason.  Few  men  know  Avhen  to  dig  pota- 
toes, and  quite  a  number  of  failures  may  be  attributed 
to  this  cause.  No  farmer  will  gather  his  corn  until 
fully  ripe.  Just  so  he  should  act  in  saving  his  pota- 
toes. Potatoes  should  be  dug  when  fully  ripe,  whether 
the  vines  have  been  nipped  by  a  slight  frost  or  not ;  but 
as  a  general  rule,  it  is  best,  or  as  well,  for  a  slight  frost 
to  nip  the  vines  before  digging  should  occur.  To  ascer- 
tain when  to  dig  and  put  up  potatoes  a  few  should  be 
selected  and  cut  or  split  open.  If  the  cuts  dry  white, 
dig;  but  should  they  dry  dark,  let  them  stand  a  few 


HOW   TO    SAVE   SWEET    POTATOES.  79 

days.  Potatoes  ripen  rapidly  at  this  season  of  the  year, 
and  nothing  is  lost  by  delay,  unless  there  be  danger  of  a 
killing  frost.  • 

"  To  understand  fully  the  plan  of  saving  potatoes  it  is 
necessary  to  commence  with  tlie  house ;  and  by  this  we 
do  not  mean  a  building  made  tight  to  preserve  the  pota- 
toes, but  merely  a  house  to  keep  the  sand,  dust  or  earth 
dry  and  to  keep  out  rogues.  The  one  used  at  my  fa- 
ther's is  a  log  cabin,  with  an  earthen  floor  covered  to 
the  depth  of  two  feet  (less,  we  think,  would  do),  with  dry 
sand,  dust  or  earth.  When  the  potatoes  are  dug  move 
them  and  pile  up  in  the  corners  of  the  house,  to  remain 
in  this  condition  until  they  go  through  a  sweat.  The  time 
occupied  in  this  process  depends  largely  on  the  state  of 
the  weather.  Should  the  weather  become  cool  suffi- 
ciently to  chill  the  potatoes,  a  little  straw  or  leaves  should 
be  placed  over  them,  and  a  little  sand,  dust  or  dry  earth 
also  when  the  sweating  is  through  with.  Ti)en  com- 
mence to  put  away  for  future  use  by  emptying  a  basket- 
ful in  the  center  of  the  house  and  throwing  over  this 
pile  a  few  shovelfuls  of  dry  material  (sand  is  best).  Con- 
tinue this  until  all  the  potatoes  are  put  into  this  big 
heap  and  covered  to  the  depth  of  two  or  three  inches 
with  one  of  the  materials  above  mentioned.  Should  a 
rogue  break  into  your  heap,  or  the  covering  be  neglected, 
only  those  exposed  to  the  weather  will  spoil.  You  can 
go  into  the  bank  without  any  danger,  and  you  can  rest 
assured  that   your  potatoes  will  keep  from  year  to  year. 

"The  final  covering  may  be  two  or  three  inches  when 
first  put  away,  but  as  the  weather  grows  cold  (especially 
as  applied  to  colder  sections),  this,  doubtless,  we  think, 
should  be  increased  to  an  extent  sufficient  to  secure  the 
potatoes  from  cold  or  freezing." 


80  SWEET    POTATO    CULTURE. 

CHAPTER    XXVI. 
HARVESTING  AND  STORING  SWEET  POTATOES. 

A  correspondent  from  Wisconsin  makes  the  following 
statement  :  "I  raise  a  good  many  sweet  potatoes,  and 
have  kept  them  perfectly  sound  through  winter  by  dig- 
ging promptly  after  the  vines  are  frosted  (we  and  otliers 
say,  dig  sweet  potatoes  before  the  frost  kills  the  vines)  ; 
spread  thinly  in  an  airy,  dry  pUice,  where  they  will  not 
be  chilled,  leaving  them  for  a  couple  of  weeks,  or  until 
they  are  perceptibly  wilted ;  then  Avrap  all  those  Avliich 
are  an  inch  through  or  upward  In  papers,  and  pack  them 
snugly  in  barrels,  and  place  them  up  stairs,  near  a  chim- 
ney, in  a  room  where  it  does  not  freeze.  The  small  po- 
tatoes I  pack  in  sand  wdiich  has  been  dried  in  a  kiln  or 
oven,  and  set  them  in  a  similar  place." 

Mr.  J.  B.  Wallace,  of  Chico,  Wise  Country,  Texas, 
gives  his  mode  of  keeping  and  storing  sweet  potatoes  as 
follows  :  '*  I  think  the  most  essential  thing  is  to  dig 
them  at  the  proper  time,  and  I  think  that  time  is  about 
the  full  moon  in  October — that  is,  in  Texas.  No  matter 
about  the  weather,  unless  the  ground  is  too  wet.  I  never 
wait  for  frost ;  but  if  frost  comes  before  the  full  moon, 
dig  as  soon  possible,  or  at  least  before  any  rain.  I  dig 
with  a  bull-tongue  plow  ;  but  any  way  will  do,  if  they 
are  not  cut  or  bruised.  In  gathering  them,  sort  out  the 
cut  ones,  but  before  putting  up  let  them  have  at  least 
one  day's  sun  ;  if  the  ground  is^  wet,  two  days  or  more  is 
better,  but  in  no  case  let  them  take  the  dew  at  night.  I 
put  them  in  a  shallow  cellar,  say  from  three  to  four  feet 
deep,  under  some  house.  After  they  are  put  away,  throw 
a  little  fine,  dry  earth  over  them — just  enough  to  dust 
over  the  cut  potatoes,  if  there  be  any.  This  will  cause 
them  to  dry  and  not  commence  rotting.  Let  them  lie 
that  way  till  the  weather  begins  to  turn  cool ;  then  cover 


HARVESTING   AN^D   STORING   SWEET   TOTATOES.        81 

np  as  the  weather  gets  colder,  until  they  are  covered  from 
ten  to  twelve  inches  deep.  In  all  cases  cover  with  dry 
earth.  I  differ  with  those  who  want  straw  or  leaves  un- 
der potatoes  ;  I  want  them  on  ihe  ground,  where  they 
will  keep  plump  and  sound,  and  the  protection  from  frost 
will  be  equally  good. 

"  AVhen  they  are  bulked  or  ])ittcd  out  of  doors  they 
should  be  on  an  elevated  place,  or  throw  up  the  earth  so 
that  water  will  not  stand  about  them.  Place  the  potatoes 
on  the  naked  ground — about  thirty  or  forty  bushels  in  a 
bulk  ;  set  up  corn  stalks  or  similar  material  around  them  : 
tiien  spread  some  dry  grass  or  leaves  on  top,  and  bank 
up  enough  soil  to  this  covering  to  hold  it  on.  Let  them 
stand  that  way  till  the  weather  begins  to  get  cool  ;  then 
commence  to  cover  deeper.  When  the  weather  becomes 
very  cold  they  should  be  covered  with  soil  to  the  depth 
of  at  least  twelve  or  fifteen  inches,  but  in  warmer  weather 
they  should  have  a  little  air  at  the  top.  In  all  cases  .have 
them  well  sheltered  ;  a  very  small  leak  will  ruin  a  bulk 
of  potatoes.  This  is  my  experience  of  twenty  years  in 
Texas." 

We  endorse  most  of  the  above  directions.  Doubtless, 
for  the  climate  of  Texas,  the  plan  of  Mr.  Wallace  works 
well.  Perhaps  in  colder  regions  deeper  covering  and  pro- 
tection from  extreme  cold  would  be  necessary.  It  is  not 
probable  that  Mr.  Wallace  attaches  any  importance  to 
the  "sign "  of  the  moon,  but  gives  the  "  full  moon  "  in 
October  as  a  suitable  average  time  for  his  locality. 

It  is  always  best  to  dig  sweet  potatoes  before  the  frost 
kills  the  vines.  Select,  if  possible,  a  dry  time  for  this 
work,  and,  in  storing  for  home  use  or  for  market,  we  re- 
peat, be  sure  the  potatoes  arc  as  free  from  moisture  as 
possible.  No  vegetable  will  rot  sooner  from  dampness 
or  wet  than  the  sweet  potato.  Attend  to  this  ;  secure 
them  from  freezing  and  they  are  generally  safe. 

H.  M.  Minster  gives  the  following  directions  for  keep- 


82  SWEET   POTATO   CULTURE. 

ing  sweet  potatoes.  His  mode,  doubtless,  is  good,  espe- 
ciiilly  for  saving  them  for  home  use  ;  and.  we  believe,  as 
he  says,  they  may  be  kept  from  year  to  year  in  those 
Avarm  newspaper  beds,  even  without  being  near  the  stove 
pipe,  in  some  Southern  sections.  It  might  not  be  prac- 
ticable or  convenient  to  adopt  this  plan  where  large  quan- 
tities are  raised  for  market,  lie  says  :  "I  give  my  mode 
for  saving  sweet  potatoes.  I  have  a  dry  goods  box  which 
holds  twelve  or  fifteen  bushels  of  potatoes.  I  set  this 
box  against  the  stove  pipe  up  stairs.  Line  the  box  inside 
— bottom,  sides  and  ends — to  the  top  with  twelve  to 
fifteen  thicknesses  of  newspapers,  carefully  breaking  tlie 
joints.  The  box  is  now  ready  for  the  potatoes.  Dig 
them  when  ripe,  and.  before  they  get  injured  with  cold 
in  the  patch,  take  them  up  stairs.  You  can  let  them 
lay  a  few  days  before  placing  them  in  the  box,  or  put 
them  in  as  you  take  them  up  if  they  are  dry.  Do  not 
put  anything  on  top  of  the  potatoes  except  the  lid  of  the 
box,  and  that  must  not  fit  tight  until  cold  vreather.  You 
can  easily  tell  if  the  lid  is  too  close,  as  the  potatoes  will 
sweat,  and  moisture  gather  on  the  under  side  of  the  lid 
and  even  on  the  potatoes.  I  have  kept  sweet  potatoes  in 
this  way  perfectly  sound  from  year  to  year.  They  are  so 
fine  when  other  vegetables  are  scarce  ;  they  can  be  cooked 
in  various  ways,  and  everybody  likes  thenio" 


SWEET   POTATOES   IN    NOKTHERN   LOCALITIES.         83 

CHAPTER    XXVII. 
SWEET  POTATOES  IN  NORTHERN  LOCALITIES. 

Sweet  Potatoes  in  Ohio. — '*I  believe  sweet  pota- 
toes can  be  profitably  grown  much  farther  North  than  is 
generally  supposed,  or  wherever  any  variety  of  corn  will 
ripen,"  says  Mr.  AY.  M.  Kathbone,  Marietta,  Ohio,  who 
lias  made  the  sweet  potato  crop  a  study  for  years.  Mr, 
Rathbone  plants  in  ridges  three  feet  apart  from  center 
to  center,  with  the  plants  set  in  the  ridge  eighteen 
to  twenty-four  inches  apart.  After  every  shower  that 
forms  a  crust,  he  ploughs  lightly  with  a  three-shovel 
plough  constructed  especially  for  the  work,  and  scrapes 
down  the  crust  and  incipient  weeds — do  not  let  these 
get  a  fair  start — with  the  two  small  shovels  on  the  outer 
shafts,  while  the  large  shovel  attached  behind  to  a  cen- 
ter-beam heaves  the  ridges  up  again,  all  in  one  perform- 
ance. As  soon  as  the  vines  cover  the  ground  he  is  ready 
for  a  drouth,  which  injures  this  crop  less  than  any  other. 

Most  peo2)le,  in  Mr.  Rathbone's  opinion,  err  in  select- 
ing land  that  is  too  wet  for  the  sweet  potato  crop.  They 
also  plant  too  close.  In  New  York,  Maine  or  Canada, 
Mr.  R.  suggests  that  the  hills  on  these  soils  ought  to  be 
as  far  apart  as  those  of  corn,  in  order  to  insure  ample 
sunlight  as  the  crop  approaches  maturity. 

Sweet  Potatoes  in  Ontario,  Canada. — Few  per- 
sons have  an  idea  of  the  wide  range  of  the  sweet  potato, 
and  would  hardly  expect  that  fine,  large  potatoes  could 
be  raised  in  the  Province  of  Ontario,  Canada ;  but  such 
is  the  fact.  "We  have  before  us  a  report  of  the  *' Fruit 
Growers'  Association  of  the  Province  of  Ontario,"  from 
which  we  glean  the  following  : 

"  'Yellow  Nansemond'  is  probably  one  of  the  best 
varieties  for  this  Province  ;  succeeds  well,  very  prolific, 


84  SWEET   POTATO   CULTURE. 

and  often  grows  as  large  as  six  pounds  in  weight,  '  Ber- 
muda '  is  a  fine  flavored  variety,  but  appears  to  require  a 
longer  season  to  reacli  perfection  than  the  other.  It  is 
not  so  ])rolific  or  so  sure  a  cropper.  '  Early  Peabody  : ' 
A  white  potato,  smaller  in  size  than  either  of  the  above, 
and  not  so  prolific,  but  of  good  quality. 

'*  There  are  several  other  varieties,  but,  after  testing, 
these  three,  in  the  order  given,  are  considered  as  the 
best.  The  only  difficulty  to  contend  with  is,  to  get  a 
long  enough  season  to  bring  them  to  perfection — to  get 
out  the  plants  as  early  as  possible,  but  not  so  early  as  to 
endanger  them  by  frost." 

Full  directions  follow  for  planting  and  culture,  which 
we  omit,  as  they  are  similar  to  those  practiced  in  our 
Northern  States. 


CHAPTEK    XXVIII. 

COOKING   SWEET   POTATOES. 

As  an  article  of  diet  the  sweet  potato  is  justly  con- 
sidered a  lyixury  and  the  most  delicious  of  all  escu- 
lents. It  can  be  cooked  in  various  ways,  with  less 
condiments  and  less  trouble  than  any  other  produc- 
tion  of  the  garden   or   field.   . 

Little's  Method. — "Little,"  of  Belton,  Texas,  tells 
"The  Housekeeper"  her  plan  for  cooking  sweet  pota- 
toes: "Wash  them  in  a  pan,  pouring  a  little  hot  wa- 
ter over  them  ;  set  in  an  oven  to  bake,  turning  them 
so  as  to  bake  evenly ;  pour  in  more  water  as  needed  ; 
let  the  pan  be  about  dry  when  they  get  done ;  place 
on  a  dish  and  serve;  or  halve  them — if  very  large, 
quarter  them — first  peeling,  and  bake  in  a  pan  with 


COOKING   SWEET  POTATOES.  85 

roast  beef  or  fresh  pork,  basting  them  often  with  the 
drippings.      They  will  be  found  very  nice," 

Sweet  Potato  Pie. — The  following  recipe  for  sweet 
potato  pie  comes  all  the  way  from  Arkansas:  "One 
quart  of  sweet  potatoes  boiled  and  well  strained,  three 
beaten  eggs,  three  tables])oonfuls  of  sugar,  one  tablespoon- 
ful  of  butter,  half  a  nutmeg  (grated),  half  a  teaspoon- 
ful  of  ground  cinnamon,  a  little  ground  cloves,  a  little 
lemon  peel,  or  a  little  essence  of  lemon,  enough  cream 
or  milk  to  make  the  mixture  of  the  consistency  of 
batter ;  make  a  rich  pastry,  and,  covering '  your  bake- 
plate,  pour  in  the  mixture  and  bake  with  a  top  crust." 
The  above  must  make  a  rich  pie,  wholesome  and  ap- 
petizing. Half  the  condiments  might  be  omitted,  and 
still  it  would  be  most  excellent. 

Glazed  Sweet  Potatoes. — Boil  softly,  peel  care- 
fully, and  lay  in  a  greased  dripping-pan  in  a  good 
oven.  As  they  begin  to  crust  over,  baste  with  a  little 
butter,  repeating  this  several  times  as  they  brown. 
When   glossy  and   of   a   golden    russet   color,   serve. 

Sweet  Potato  Pudding. — Two  coffee-cupfuls  of 
mashed,  boiled  sweet  potatoes  ;  add  one  teacupful  of 
sugar,  one  teacupful  of  butter,  four  eggs,  one  teacup- 
ful of  sweet  cream,  one  teaspoonful  of  cinnamon,  one 
grated  nutmeg,  one  teaspoonful  of  extract  of  lemon,  and 
a  pinch  of  soda  dissolved  in  a  teaspoonful  of  water. 
Beat  the  eggs  light ;  add  .sugar  and  butter  rubbed  to 
a  cream  ;  stir  all  together  Avith  the  mashed  potatoes 
while  hot.  Cover  a  deep  plate  with  puff  paste  ;  pour 
in  the  mixture.  Bake  in  a  moderate  oven.  When 
done,  cover  the  top  with  slices  of  fruit  marmalade 
and  sprinkle   thickly  with  granulated  sugar. 


86  SWEET   POTATO   CULTUREo 

CHAPTER    XXIX. 
SWEET  POTATOES  FOR  HOGS. 

The  propagation  and  culture  of  tlie  sweet  potato  art 
especially  profitable  and  cheap.  No  difficulty  in  rais- 
ing the  crop,  but  its  keeping  requires  care  and  at- 
tention. Farmers  in  the  South  who  are  not  convenient 
to  markets,  and  who  are  not  prepared  for  storing  or 
do  not  care  to  winter  the  crop,  Avould  doubtless  do 
well   to   use  the   surplus   product  as  food  for  hogs. 

"Every  farmer  in  the  sweet  potato  regions,"  says 
Mr.  W.  L.  Jones,  of  the  "Southern  Cultivator,"  "ought 
to  i)lant  largely  of  the  San  Domingo  type  of  sweet 
potatoes  for  fattening  hogs  in  the  fall.  Considering 
quality  and  quantity,  we  know  of  no  "other  food  so 
easily  and  cheaply  raised  for  tliis  purpose.  If  the 
potatoes  and  corn  are  dried  at  the  temperature  of  boil- 
ing water,  three  bushels  of  potatoes  will  contain  as 
much  dry  matter  as  one  of  corn — not  as  much  fat 
or  albuminous  matter  in  proportion  as  corn,  but  more 
of  the  starch  group  of  constituents  tlian  corn.  Peas 
would  make  up  the  deficiency  in  the  potato  admir- 
ably. The  two  would  fit  well  together  and  make  al- 
most a  perfect  ration  for  fattening  hogs.  Have  a 
potato  and  pea  patch  in  the  same  enclosure,  so  that 
the  hogs  may  cat  of  each  at  will^  and  you  have  the 
foundation  for  cheap  pork." 


nt^EBTY  UBRARY 
n.CStMU  College 


STANDARD    BOOKS. 

Forest  Planting. 

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I 


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The  lee  Crop. 

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Mushrooms.    How  to  Grozv  Thcui. 

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on  the  subject  ever  written,  and  the  only  book  on  growing 
mushrooms  published  in  Ameri-  a.  The  author  describes  how 
he  grows  mushrooms,  and  how  they  are  grown  for  profit  by 
the  leading  market  gardeners,  and  for  home  use  by  the  most 
successful  private  growers.  Engravings  drawn  from  nature 
expressly  for  this  work.    170  pages.    5x7  inches.    Cloth.    $1.00 

Play  and  Profit  in  My  Garden. 

By  E.  P.  Roe.  The  author  takes  us  to  his  garden  on  the 
rocky  hillsides  in  the  vicinity  of  West  Point,  and  shows  us 
how  out  of  it,  after  four  years'  experience,  he  evoked  a  profit 
of  $1000,  and  this  while  carrying  on  pastoral  and  literary 
labor.  It  is  verj'  rarely  that  so  much  literary  tastt  and  .skill 
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Illustrated.    350  pages.    5x7  inches.    Cloth.        .         .        $1.00 

Fumigation  Methods. 

By  Willis  G.  Johnson.  A  timely  up-to-date  book  on 
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insects  with  hydrocyanic  acid  gas  and  carbon  bisulphid,  the 
most  powerful  insecticides  ever  discovered.  It  is  an  indispen- 
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lege and  experiment  station  workers,  etc.  Illustrated.  313 
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Fungi  and  Fungicides. 

By  Prof.  Clarence  IM.  Weed,  A  practical  manual  con- 
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Paper,  50  cents;  cloth $1.00 


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Insects  and  Insecticides. 

By  Clarence  M.  Weed,  D.  Sc,  professor  of  entomology 
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preventing  their  injuries.  Many  illustrations.  334  pages. 
5x7    inches.      Cloth $1.50 

How  Crops  Grow. 

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germination  of  seeds,  and  the  food  of  plants  obtained  both 
from  the  air  and  the  soil.  The  book  is  indispensable  to  all 
real  students  of  agriculture.  With  numerous  illustrations  and 
tables   of   analysis.     416    pages.     5x7    inches.     Cloth.        $1.50 

Tobacco  Leaf. 

By  J.  B.  Kn.LEBREW  and  Herbert  Myrick.  Its  Culture 
and  Cure,  IMarketing  and  ]\lanufacture.  A  practical  handbook 
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Cobiini's  Szvine  Husbandry. 

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offered.     Illustrated.    312  pages.     5x7  inches.     Cloth.        $1.50 

Home  Pork  Making. 

The  art  of  raising  and  curing  pork  on  the  farm.  By 
A.  W.  Fulton.  A  complete  guide  for  the  farmer,  the  country 
butclicr  and  the  sulnn-l)an  dweller,  in  all  that  pertains  to  hog 
slaughtering,  curing,  preserving  and  storing  pork  product — 
from  scalding  vat  to  kitclien  table  and  dining  room.  Illus- 
trated. 125  pages.  5x7  inches.  Cloth.  .  .  .  $0.50 
6 


STANDARD     BOOKS. 

Harris  on  the  Pig. 

By  Joseph  Harris.  New  edition.  Revised  and  enlarged 
by  the  author.  The  points  of  the  various  Enghsh  and  Ameri- 
can breeds  are  thoroughly  discussed,  and  the  great  advantage 
of  using  thoroughbred  males  clearly  shown.  The  work  is 
e(.]ually  valuable  to  the  farmer  who  keeps  but  few  pig's,  and 
to  the  breeder  on  an  extensive  scale.  Illustrated.  318  pages. 
5x7  inches.     Cloth.     .      • $1.00 

TJw  Dairyman's  Manual. 

By  Henry  Stewart,  author  of  "The  Shepherd's  Manual," 
"Irrigation,"  etc.  A  useful  and  practical  work,  by  a  writer 
who  is  well  known  as  thoroughly  familiar  with  the  subject 
of  which  he  writes.  Illustrated.  475  pages.  5x7  inches. 
Qoth $1.50 

Feeds  and  Feeding. 

By  W.  A.  Henry.  This  handbook  for  students  and  stock- 
men constitutes  a  compendium  of  practical  and  useful  knowl- 
edge on  plant  growth  and  animal  nutrition,  feeding  stuffs, 
feeding  animals  and  every  detail  pertaining  to  this  important 
subject.  It  is  thorough,  accurate  and  reliable,  and  is  the  most 
valuable  contribution  to  live  stock  literature  in  many  years. 
All  the  latest  and  best  information  is  clearly  and  systematically 
presented,  making  the  work  indispensable  to  every  owner  of 
live  stock.     658  pages.     6x9  inches.     Cloth.       .         .        $2.00 

The  Propagation  of  Plants. 

By  Andrew  S.  Fuller.  An  eminently  practical  and  use- 
ful work  describing  the  process  of  hybridizing  and  crossing 
species  and  varieties  and  also  the  many  different  modes  by 
which  cultivated  plants  may  be  propagated  and  multiplied. 
Illustrated.     350   pages.     5x7   inches.     Cloth.     .         .        $1.50 

Gardening  for  Pleasure. 

By  Peter  Henderson.  A  guide  to  the  amateur  in  the 
fruit,  vegetable  and  flower  garden,  with  full  descriptions  for 
the  greenhouse,  conserv;;tory  and  window  garden.  It  meets 
the  wants  of  all  classes  in  country,  city  and  village,  who  keep 
a  garden  for  their  own  enjoyment  rather  than  for  the  sale  of 
products.      Finely      illustrated.      404      pages.      5x7      inches. 

Cloth $1.50 

7 


STANDARD     BOOKS. 

Prhe  Gardening. 

Compiled  by  G.  Burnap  Fiske.  This  unique  book  shov,  "v 
how  to  derive  profit,  pleasure  and  health  from  the  garden, 
by  giving  the  actual  experiences  of  the  successful  prize  win- 
ners in  the  American  Agriculturist  garden  contest.  Every 
line  is  from  actual  experience  based  on  real  work.  The  result 
is  a  mine  and  treasure  house  of  garden  practice,  comprising 
the  grand  prize  gardener's  methods,  gardening  for  profit,  farm 
gardens,  the  home  acre,  town  and  city  gardens,  experimental 
gardening,  methods  under  glass,  success  with  specialties,  prize 
flowers  and  fruits,  gardening  by  women,  boys  and  girls,  irriga- 
tion, secrets,  etc.,  etc.  Illustrated  from  original  photos.  320 
pages.     5x7  inches.     Cloth.         .         .         .         .         .         $1.00 

Gardening  for  Profit. 

By  Peter  Henderson.  The  standard  work  on  market  and 
family  gardening.  The  successful  experience  of  the  author 
for  more  than  thirty  yecrs.  and  his  willingness  to  tell,  as  he 
does  in  this  work,  the  secret  of  his  success  for  the  benefit  of 
others,  enables  him  to  give  most  valuable  information.  The 
book  is  profusely  illustrated.  376  pages.  5x7  inches. 
Cloth $1.50 

The  Windozv  Floiver  Garden. 

By  Julius  J.  Heinrich.  The  author  is  a  practical  florist, 
and  this  enterprising  volume  embodies  his  personal  experience 
in  window  gardening  during  a  long  period.  New  and  enlarged 
edition.    Illustrated.     123  pages.     5x7  inches.     Cloth.        $0.50 

Market  Gardening  and  Farm  Notes. 

By  Burnett  Landreth.  Experiences  and  observation  for 
both  north  and  south,  of  interest  to  the  amateur  gardener, 
trucker  and  farmer.  A  novel  feature  of  the  book  is  the  calen- 
dar of  farm  and  garden  operations  for  each  month  of  the  year; 
the  chapters  on  fertilizers,  transplanting,  succession  and  rota- 
tion of  crops,  the  packing,  shipping  and  marketing  of  vcgC' 
tables  will  be  especially  useful  to  market  gardeners.  315  pages. 
5x7  inches.     Cloth.     .         .         .  -      .         .         .         .        $1.00 

The  Study  of  Breeds. 

By  Thomas  Shaw^.  Origin,  history,  distribution,  charac- 
teristics, adaptability,  uses,  and  standards  of  excellence  of  all 
pedigreed  breeds  of  cattle,  sheep  and  swine  in  America.  The 
accepted  text  book  in  colleges,  and  the  authority  for 
farmers  and  breeders.  Illustrated.  371  pages.  5x7  inches. 
Gloth.         ...  .....        $1.50 


STANDARD     BOOKS. 
'Animal  Breeding. 

By  Thomas  Shaw.  This  book  is  the  most  complete  and 
comprehensive  work  ever  published  on  the  subject  of  which 
it  treats.  It  is  the  first  book  which  has  systematized  the  subject 
of  animal  breeding.  The  leading  laws  which  govern  this 
most  intricate  question  the  author  has  boldly  defined  and 
authoritatively  arranged.  The  chapters  which  he  has  written 
on  the  more  involved  features  of  the  subject,  as  sex  and  the 
relative  infiuence  of  parents,  should  go  far  toward  setting  at 
rest  the  wildly  speculative  views  cherished  with  reference  to 
these  questions.  The  striking  originality  in  the  treatment  of 
the  subject  is  no  less  conspicuous  than  the  superb  order  and 
regular  sequence  of  thought  from  the  beginning  to  the  end 
of  the  book.  The  book  is  intended  to  meet  the  needs  of  aM 
persons  interested  in  the  breeding  and  rearing  of  live  stock. 
Illustrated.    405  pages.    5x7  inches.     Cloth.        .         .        $1.50 

Forage  Crops  Other  Than  Grasses. 

By  Thomas  Shaw.  How  to  cultivate,  harvest  and  use 
them.  Indian  corn,  sorghum,  clover,  leguminous  plants,  crops 
of  the  brassica  genus,  the  cereals,  millet,  field  roots,  etc. 
Intensely  practical  and  reliable.  Illustrated.  287  pages.  5x7 
inches.       Cloth.  .......        $1.00 

Soiling  Crops  and  the  Silo. 

By  Thomas  Shaw.  The  growing  and  feeding  of  all  kinds 
of  soiling  crops,  conditions  to  which  they  are  adapted,  their 
plan  in  the  rotation,  etc.  Not  a  line  i?  repeated  from  the 
Forage  Crops  book.  Best  methods  of  building  the  silo,  filling 
it  and  feeding  ensilage.  Illustrated.  364  pages.  5x7  inches. 
Cloth $1.50 

Stezvart's  Shepherd's  Manual. 

By  Henry  Stewart.  A  valuable  practical  treatise  on  the 
sheep  for  American  farmers  and  sheep  growers.  It  is  so 
plain  that  a  farmer  or  a  farmer's  son  who  has  never  kept 
a  sheep  may  learn  from  its  pages  how  to  manage  a  flock 
successfully,  and  yet  so  complete  that  even  the  experienced 
shepherd  may  gather  many  suggestions  from  it.  The  results 
of  personal  experience  of  some  years,  with  the  characters  of  the 
various  modern  breeds  of  sheep,  and  the  sheep  raising  capabili- 
ties of  many  portions  of  our  extensive  territory  and  that  of 
Canada — and  the  careful  study  of  the  diseases  to  which  our 
sheep  are  chiefly  subject,  with  those  by  which  they  may  even- 
tually be  afllicted  through  unforeseen  accidents — as  well  as  the 
methods  of  management  called  for  under  our  circumstances, 
are  carefully  described.     Illustrated.     276  pages.     5x7  inches. 

Cloth. ,         ,         ,         .        $1.00 

9 


STANDARD    BOOKS. 

Pear  Culture  for  Profit. 

By  P.  T.  QuiNN,  practical  horticulturist.  Teaching  how 
to  raise  pears  intelligently,  and  with  the  best  results,  how  to 
find  out  the  character  of  the  soil,  the  best  methods  of  pre- 
paring it,  the  best  varieties  to  select  under  existing  conditions, 
the  best  modes  of  planting,  pruning,  fertilizing,  grafting,  and 
utilizing  the  ground  before  the  trees  come  into  bearing,  and, 
finally,  of  gathering  and  packing  for  market.  Illustrated.  136 
pages.     5x7  inches.     Cloth $1.00 

Cranberry  Culture. 

By  Joseph  J.  White.  Contents:  Natural  history,  history 
of  cultivation,  choice  of  location,  preparing  the  ground,  plant- 
ing the  vines,  management  of  meadows,  flooding,  enemies 
and  difficulties  overcome,  picking,  keeping,  profit  and  loss. 
Illustrated.     132  pages.     5x7  inches.     Cloth,       .         .        $1.00 

Ornamental  Gardening  for  Americans. 

By  Elias  a.  Long,  landscape  architect.  A  treatise  on 
beautifying  homes,  rural  districts  and  cemeteries.  A  plain 
and  practical  work  with  numerous  illustrations  and  instruc- 
tions so  plain  that  they  may  be  readily  followed.  Illustrated. 
390  pages.     5x7  inches.     Cloth.       .  ...         $1.50 

Grape  Culturist. 

By  A.  S.  Fuller.  This  is  one  of  the  very  best  of  works 
on  the  culture  of  the  hardy  grapes,  with  full  directions  for 
all  departments  of  propagation,  culture,  etc.,  with  150  excellent 
engravings,  illustrating  planting,  training,  grafting,  etc. 
282   pages.     5x7    inches.     Cloth $i-50 

Gardening  for  Young  and  Old. 

By  Joseph  Harris.  A  work  intended  to  interest  farmers* 
boys  in  farm  gardening,  which  means  a  better  and  more  profit- 
able form  of  agriculture.  The  teachings  are  given  in  the 
familiar  manner  so  well  known  in  the  author's  "Walks  and 
Talks  on  the  Farm."  Illustrated.  191  pages.  5x7  inches. 
Cloth $1.00 

Money  in  the  Garden. 

By  P.  T.  QuiNN.  The  author  gives  in  a  plain,  practical 
style  instructions  on  three  distinct  although  closely  connected 
branches  of  gardening — the  kitchen  garden,  market  garden  and 
field  culture,  from  successful  practical  experience  for  a  term 
of  years.  Illustrated.  268  pages.  5x7  inches.  Cloth.  $1.00 
19 


